Shamrock Rovers, in the forthcoming weeks, will be scheduled to play against the current champions of the Greek Super League, PAOK, to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League. The initial leg of the play-off will be in Greece and is programmed to start at 6.30pm on the coming Thursday.
The Europa League functions as the secondary competition organised by Uefa. It is nestled between the Champions League at the top and the Conference League at the bottom.
In case Shamrock Rovers are defeated by PAOK as anticipated by many, they would be relocated to the group stages of the Conference League, a scenario that occurred in 2022. Back then, they concluded at the base of a group that comprised Djurgardens of Sweden, Belgium’s Gent and Molde of Norway; recording two draws at Tallaght and suffering four losses.
Distinguishing the rewards for participating in the Europa League and the Conference League, the Rovers will earn €4.31 million if they are victorious against PAOK, and €3.17 million should they suffer defeat.
Additionally, during the entire duration of six match days, an amount of €450,000 is awarded for each win accomplished in the Europa League’s group stages (a slightly less €400,000 in the Conference), and €150,000 is provided for each draw (€133,000 in Conference). One more remuneration of €600,000 (€400,000 in the Conference) is provided for ranking among the top eight sides, and a position between the ninth and the sixteenth earns €300,000 (€200,000 in Conference). If the Rovers make it to the last sixteen, a further €1.75 million would be received (€800,000 in the Conference).
Turning to St Patrick’s Athletic, under the leadership of Stephen Kenny they are a double-legged play-off win away from making it through to the group stages of the Conference League. They will have to manoeuvre past Istanbul Başakşehir FK, a team valued at over €50 million, who were fourth in the Turkish Super Lig in the previous season. The starting leg is scheduled to take place in Tallaght and is to kick off at 7.45pm on Thursday evening.
Thus, it seems that both these Irish teams are up against tremendous odds.
Reaching the group stages would be a landmark accomplishment for this present St Pat’s team—an achievement to rival what Kenny accomplished during his tenure at Dundalk. However, there is scant indication that St Pat’s will be able to amass a substantial enough lead in Thursday’s Tallaght venue to ensure victory in Istanbul. At present, they occupy the seventh position in the Premier Division, comfortably distanced from a relegation play-off by eight points, yet the same distance away from qualifying for Europe in the upcoming season.
Rover’s aspiration for a fifth consecutive victory is dwindling. They currently find themselves in fifth place, trailing Shelbourne, the league leaders, by 10 points.
How do we keep an eye on these extraordinary happenings?
Due to budget constraints and viewership considerations, RTÉ, Virgin Media and TG4 have declined to broadcast any European qualifiers during the previous month. The conjectural expense of airing all four matches would be approximately €200,000.
LOITV is slated to broadcast the Rovers v PAOK match, and it’s anticipated that St Pat’s would be using a different streaming platform with a fee of €10.