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The Copa America and European Championships are the two biggest continental tournaments in football. Both have a similar structure, but the money made available for winnings by CONMEBOL and UEFA is not equal between the two.
The Copa America Centenario has $18 million with which to reward national teams, which is $8 million more than Chile 2015 had to distribute.
Each country will be paid $250,000 just to participate. The further in the competition a country progresses, the more money it will receive. Fourth place will pocket $2 million while third place will be awarded $3 million. The champion will receive $5 million.
UEFA has allocated 300 $million for Euro 2016, more than 16 times what a Copa America has in prize money. Each one of Euro 2016’s 24 participating teams will receive $9 million. So, even if a national team crashes out of the group stage it will receive almost double the money of the Copa America champion.
In addition, teams will be awarded €1.5 million for a win and €500,000 for a draw in the group stage, €5.5 million for making it to the round of 16, €6 million for making it to the quarter-finals, and €7 million for making it to the semi-finals. The champion could earn €27 million if it wins all three of group stage games.
The difference in pay between the two tournaments really is incredible.
This summer will be the first time in history that these tournaments overlap. European clubs prevented Euro 2016 from beginning later in the summer so as not to alter the summer vacation of their players.
From a sporting point of view, the US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann said: "If we compare this Copa America, with sixteen teams, with the twenty-four teams that will be in the Euro, I think the Copa America is better than the Euro. There is more quality competition. I think the more teams playing, the [fewer] games [of] quality [there are].”
Klinsmann, as a player, played in the German team that won Euro 1996.
While American fans will be very attentive to every game in both tournaments, the Copa America in Europe will be seen mainly by teams from different leagues as a chance to find new players for their squads.
It is expected that the average attendance at Euro 2016 games will be 50 thousand people. For Copa America Centenario projected average attendance is about 70 thousand fans.
Copa America begins June 3. Euro 2016 begins June 10. For five days, from June 10-14, the group stages overlap. Both tournaments also will also compete for American TV ratings with the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals.
If you are a diehard soccer fan you must not forget that the US Open Cup will be played between June 15th and June 17th, and also MLS regular season starts back up again on June 18.
