The SPFL have announced a record pot of prize money for the Premier Sports Cup – upping it by more than £100,000 from last season.
The competition enters its second year with Premier Sports and is set to kick off on the weekend of July 9. Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Dundee United and Motherwell all get a bye into the second round as they prepare for European football, but the rest of the SPFL, as well as Buckie Thistle and Fraserburgh from the Highland League and Cowdenbeath from the Lowland League, are getting set for the group stage.
The competition runs from the group stage in July until the final on February 26 and the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs will have serious ambitions of winning their groups and going all the way. And if they do so there is a significant prize pot on offer, with the league offering up a total pot of £2,157,000 – a rise of nearly £150,000 from last season’s figure of £2,015,000.
That is handed out to teams based on their position in the group and how far they go in the competition if they advance beyond the first round. No one team can bank any more than the £350,000 share which goes to the winners, while every team involved will pick up a minimum of £22,000 - which is earned by the bottom-placed teams in the groups.
The eight group winners and three best runners up qualify for the second round, where they will be joined by last season's Premiership top five. And every team involved at that last 16 stage is guaranteed £50,000 if they lose and £80,000 if they win and lose in the quarter-finals.
Teams competing in the semi-final are guaranteed £110,000, which rises to £160,000 if they make the final and finish as runners up. You can see the full prize money breakdown below.
Premier Sports Cup prize money by round
Group stage 5th place: £22,000
Group stage 4th place: £23,250
Group stage 3rd place: £25,000
5 worst runners up: £29,000
2nd round losers: £50,000
Quarter-final losers: £80,000
Semi-final losers: £110,000
Runner up: £160,000
Champions: £350,000
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