The UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 club benefits programme distributed a record total of nine million euros among 103 European clubs, doubling the amount allocated at the 2022 edition. The agreement, developed in collaboration with European Football Clubs (EFC), rewards clubs for releasing players to national teams and consolidates the Women’s EURO as one of the main economic drivers of women’s football in Europe.
The fund was shared among professional and amateur clubs from 16 leagues, based on the number of days each player was released during the tournament. The calculation included ten preparation days, the days of participation in the final phase and an additional travel day, with a daily rate of 1,095 euros per player. This mechanism guarantees a minimum payment even for teams eliminated in the group stage and provides pro-rated compensation in cases of injury or club changes during the competition.
Who received the payments and how the fund was distributed
At the top end of the distribution were clubs with a high number of internationals and extended involvement in the tournament. FC Barcelona received the highest total, close to 567,000 euros, followed by Chelsea FC Women and FC Bayern Munich, which reached around 462,000 euros. These figures reflect the structural weight of Europe’s leading clubs and their sustained contribution to national teams.
At the other end of the scale, several clubs received significantly smaller amounts. Teams such as Blackburn Rovers FC, Real Betis and Charlton Athletic FC were allocated around 6,500 euros. While the impact on a club’s annual budget is limited at that level, the payments represent a first structured form of economic recognition for releasing players. The distribution highlights a highly uneven landscape, where some clubs can meaningfully reinvest these revenues, while for others the programme remains largely symbolic.
Despite the overall increase, the comparison with the men’s game continues to underline a substantial gap. In the men’s EURO, the club benefits programme exceeds 100 million euros in total distribution, illustrating the difference in economic scale between the two competitions, even as women’s football continues to grow.
A Women’s EURO 2025 driving structural growth
The increase in club payments forms part of a broader expansion surrounding UEFA Women’s EURO 2025. Prize money across the tournament rose by 156 per cent, and for the first time a guaranteed share for players was introduced, strengthening the link between sporting success, financial return and ecosystem sustainability.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin described the programme as “not just a financial reward, but an investment in the future of football”, while Nadine Kessler, UEFA’s Director of Women’s Football, highlighted the essential role clubs play in developing the players who shaped a tournament of growing scale. For Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, President of EFC, the distribution reinforces the structural cooperation between clubs and national teams as the foundation for continued development of women’s football in Europe.
UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 therefore confirms a trajectory of gradual growth in investment, visibility and economic return. While the increased club fund does not eliminate existing inequalities, it marks a first step towards change, translating the release of players into tangible recognition of the role clubs play in developing women’s football across Europe — a journey in which significant ground still remains to be covered.
