Why is the Playoff Final worth more than the Champions League final?
Since its inception in July 1991, the Barclay's Premier League has brought vast amounts of money into English football, mainly in the form of television money from Sky and the BBC. However, only clubs in the top division in England benefit form this revenue revolution, so a place in the Premier League is more valuable than ever.
The Championship, which is the second tier in English football, sends three teams up to the Premier League each season, whilst receiving the three bottom teams from that league in return. The first two Premier League places are awarded via automatic promotion for the teams that finished first and second, which, this season, were Queens Park rangers and Norwich. The third place goes to the winner of the playoffs. This is a miniature knock-out tournament between the clubs that placed third, fourth, fifth and sixth in the Championship. This season Swansea, Cardiff, Reading and Nottingham Forest made the cut. Of those teams, Reading and Swansea have reached the Final, which will be played at Wembley Stadium on the 30th of May, two days after the Champions League Final at the same venue.
It is estimated that the team that wins the final on the 30th of May will receive over £90 million more in revenue than the losing club next season. TV money alone will be worth £37 million to the triumphant club after they become the third team to be promoted to the Premier League. They will receive this sum for every season they survive in the top flight, meaning that the extra income the winner will earn depends on how long they can retain Premier League status. Even if they get relegated in their first season, Swansea or Reading will still receive parachute payments worth £48 million to soften the blow of relegation.
What will the game be like and how do the teams match up?
The match itself will be played in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. It will likely have a better atmosphere than Manchester United and Barcelona's Champions League clash because the number of seats used for corporate hospitality will be far lower in the Playoff Final, as it is not such a high profile match. Both teams go into the final in fantastic form, with Swansea having claimed 3rd place in the table on last day of the season and Reading having won 8 league games in a row during March and April. Extra spice will be added to the occasion by the fact that Reading will be up against their former manager in Brendan Rodgers, who has done a great job the get his team this far. The two teams that will walk out on to the Wembley pitch for the final were expected only to achieve mid-table mediocrity, but have confounded expectations.
Swansea have benefitted form their fearsome strike force this season. The two main strikers are Fabio Borini, who is on loan from giants Chelsea, and their top scorer Scott Sinclair, who signed permanently from the same club last summer. Reading's main threat comes from in form striker Shane Long, who, after five years at the club, has enjoyed a fantastic season, scoring 21 league goals. It will be an entertaining game to watch as both teams have built their seasons on attacking rather than defending.
This fixture has produced some fantastic games of football in recent years, most notably Blackpool's storming 3-2 victory over Cardiff in last year's Final. I certainly hope this match lives up to its £90 million price tag, and I'm everyone is looking forward to seeing one of these two very deserving teams in the Premier league next season
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