Celtic FC Women have become the first Scottish side to make it to the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage after securing qualification on Thursday night.
Elena Sadiku’s side beat Ukrainian champions Vorskla Poltava 3-0 on aggregate in a two-legged knockout tie to book their place alongside the continent’s best teams in the tournament.
Celtic will join 15 other teams in four groups of four for a chance to qualify for the quarter-final stage, with the top two from each group progressing.
The Ghirls will be a Pot 4 side, potentially drawing Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Lyon or Chelsea from Pot 1, Wolfsburg, Arsenal, Real Madrid or Manchester City from Pot 3 and Juventus, St Polten, Roma and FC Twente from Pot 3.
While the money on offer from the tournament is nowhere near the men’s version due to disparity in TV rights, the cash will still be a significant boost for the women’s project within Celtic, should it all be reinvested.
Celtic bank six-figure sum for Women’s Champions League
For their victory in Round 1 of qualifying, Celtic have already landed around £67,000 and will receive another £83,000 as winners of Round 2 over the Ukrainians.
In addition, Celtic will receive roughly £334,000 for participation in the group stage.
That means that the club are guaranteed to receive at least £484,000 for the efforts of the women’s side so far.
Further potential Women’s Champions League earnings
For each result in the group stage, Celtic can earn £42,000 with a victory or £14,000 for a draw. The group winner earns a bonus of £17,000.
Qualification as a quarter-finalist will guarantee an extra £134,000, with semi-finalists landing £150,000.
The tournament runners-up then receive £167,000 with the champions banking £292,000.
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