Players of Flamengo pose for photos with as Copa do Brasil 2024 Champions after beating Atletico … [+] Mineiro at Arena MRV on November 10, 2024 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
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Whether it’s fair or not; prize money granted to the winners of Brazilian soccer tournaments is literally millions of dollars ahead of those given in other South American nations.
The gargantuan gap between cash prizes in Brazil compared to the likes of Argentina, Uruguay or Colombia is helping to widen the gap on and off the field in South American club soccer. Brazil are pulling further and further away from the rest of the pack at a scary rate.
Last weekend, Racing Club from Argentina restored a little bit of parity by defeating Brazilian club Cruzeiro in the Copa Sudamericana final. It was a great success for the club and a source of pride for Argentinian club soccer in general. However the tournament is South America’s answer to the ‘Europa League.’ Dominance is better measured in its premier club competition; the Copa Libertadores.
In the Copa Libertadores this Saturday, two Brazilian clubs will go toe-to-toe on Argentinian soil and one will be announced the sixth consecutive Brazilian winner of the tournament. A competition that was once dominated by the likes of Boca Juniors and River Plate, and even by giants from other nations like Paraguay and Uruguay.
Sadly, those days are long gone, and even though the Copa Libertadores is still thrilling entertainment the variation of clubs and nations providing that entertainment has been a little more limited in the latter stages of the competition as Brazilian club soccer has taken a firm grip on the continent.
It’s startling that the winner of the Paulista championship in Brazil receives $4 million and the winner of the national cup in Argentina receives less than $70,000. The Paulista is a state league in Brazil that is played as pre-national league and cup tournament.
If you win the national cup in Brazil, your club will take home $18 million in prize money. If you win the national league that figure is $10 million. In Argentina the league prize money is just $500,000.
When you consider that Argentinian clubs are Brazil’s closest competitor on a continental level this difference in income for domestic champions is incredible. However it makes perfect sense when you look at how far ahead Brazil’s top clubs are compared to that of their neighbours, this year mid-table Brazilian sides knocked the likes of River Plate and Boca Juniors out of continental championships.
Then you have countries elsewhere in South America that don’t even have prize money for their champions, the disparity is brutal and Brazil is dominant. Is this Premier League of South America killing the game, or is it up to the others to catch up? It’s not an easy task considering the population and economy of Brazil towers over the rest too, but we would love to see some more parity on the pitch.
Germán Cano of Fluminense lifts the trophy after winning the final match of Copa CONMEBOL … [+] Libertadores 2023 between Fluminense and Boca Juniors at Maracana Stadium on November 04, 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Publish date : 2024-11-26 09:28:00
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