Source: REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
The European Championship is not only a football festival and a cultural event filled with passion, but also a grand business carnival. It brings together numerous expectations and introduces many noteworthy numbers to fans and the industry, along with the business stories behind them.
In the roster for the 2024 European Championship, the total value of 622 players from the 24 participating teams reached 11.42 billion euros. The average value of the 24 teams reached 476 million euros, making it the most “expensive” European Championship to date. It is worth noting that the value of participating teams in the previous European Championship exceeded 10 billion euros for the first time. The value of this European Championship has once again broken historical records, being 2.2 times the total value of the 2016 European Championship, which was 5.22 billion euros. In this year’s European Championship, there are three teams worth more than 1 billion euros: England (1.52 billion), France (1.234 billion), and Portugal (1.045 billion). If Pablo Gavira, who is worth 90 million euros, was not seriously injured and absent, Spain (966 million) would have become the fourth team in the European Championship. England have also become the first team in the history to be valued at over 1.5 billion euros. The total value of their 26 players is as high as 1.52 billion euros. They are also the only team with an average player value exceeding 50 million euros.
Since 1992, revenue from the main competition of the European Championship has grown from 41 million euros to 1.9 billion euros in 2020, representing a growth rate of 463%. UEFA CEO Martin Kallen previously stated, “The 2024 European Championship, to be held in Germany this summer, will be the most commercially successful European Championship. Our goal is to generate more than 2.4 billion euros in revenue.” Additionally, 2.7 million tickets will be sold for the 51 games of this European Championship, with over 80% of them available to the public and fans of the 24 teams. UEFA received over 20 million ticket requests in the first round of sales and has sold more than 1.2 million tickets thus far. The number of ticket applications for the final alone exceeded 2.2 million, which is 33 times the capacity of the Berlin Olympic Stadium, which seats 74,000. In the official second round of ticket sales, UEFA sold 1 million tickets and received a total of over 30 million ticket applications from 206 countries.
It is worth mentioning that UEFA has introduced a new premium seating category for the European Championship, with prices exceeding double the highest price of Euro 2020. The demand for tickets for this European Championship is high, and the elevated prices and uncertainty in the secondary ticket market have deterred many fans. Hospitality tickets not only offer a better viewing experience, but also come with numerous value-added services, making them an increasingly popular choice among fans. However, behind the top-notch service, the prices are also quite steep. The lowest-priced single-game ticket for hospitality seating is 1,250 euros, which is approximately 40% more expensive than the 2022 World Cup. The most expensive single-game ticket for the final reaches 15,000 euros.
These numbers only scratch the surface of the European Championship, and there are countless more valuable and meaningful stats yet to be discovered. From player valuations to team historical records, from sponsor investments to fan enthusiasm, every number hides a fascinating story. We hope that fans can enjoy the joy brought by football, experience this European Championship festival together, and eagerly anticipate the arrival of more numbers and exciting moments!