Maccabi Tel Aviv owner Mitch Goldhar awoke this morning to the biggest payout the club has earned since he bought the Ligat Ha'al (Israel soccer Premier League) team in 2009. By beating Swiss champions Basel in the Uefa Champions League playoffs to qualify for the Group Stage for the first time since 2004, the club is guaranteed €14 million revenue from Uefa. This is comprised of €12 million for the six group stage matches and €2 million for the matches against Basel.
But that's only the start. Uefa TV rights will bring in another €2 million. Maccabi has elected to play its three group stage home matches, to be decided in the draw in Monaco tomorrow, at Haifa's 30,000 seat Sammy Ofer Stadium rather than the much smaller capacity Bloomfield Stadium in Jaffa. Ticket sales of at least 80,000 (possibly against the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Arsenal) will bring in another €1.8 million. Each Group Stage victory earns the team €1.5 million, while a draw is worth €500,000.
Then there are merchandizing , stadium advertising and sponsorship deals, which will be boosted by the Group Stage appearances. Thus even if Maccabi Tel Aviv loses all its Group Stage matches, the team will earn at least NIS 80 million ($20 million).
Maccabi Tel Aviv had budgeted NIS 125 million for the 2015/16 season but that amount is now certain to rise significantly. With income from domestic competition, Maccabi's total revenue is expected to exceed NIS 130 million ($32.5 million) in the coming season a record for any Israeli sports club including sister team Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 26, 2015
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