European leagues urge fairer share of rising UEFA prize cash
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
GENEVA (AP) — European soccer officials urged UEFA on Thursday to prevent the wealth gap between clubs from widening when it decides how to distribute billions of euros (dollars) in prize money from 2024. The European Leagues group hosted 200 clubs at a meeting and urged “drastic changes” to help protect competitive balance in soccer. The Champions League and other UEFA competitions expand in 2024 with new formats finalized last month. Revenue is expected to grow to $5.28 billion compared to $3.8 billion now. European Leagues wants more prize money steered from the Champions League to the lower competitions and more money for the hundreds of top-tier clubs who don’t qualify.