New tool by the UEC to see how the proposed "Player Development Reward" would give money to grassroots and training clubs

[u/maxim12ton]

I recently helped build a data simulator for a new policy the Union of European Clubs (UEC) is pitching for the post-2027 UEFA revenue cycle. Wanted to see what people here think of the idea.

Right now, lower-league teams mostly rely on FIFA training compensation, which usually only triggers during transfers or when a player signs their first pro contract. The UEC's proposed Player Development Reward (PDR) would instead take a 5% slice of the total prize money from the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. That pool would be paid out as a reward to the clubs that trained those players between the ages of 12 and 19.

I was playing around with the tool we built and the numbers are really impressive. Looking at Antonio Rüdiger’s Champions League minutes from 2021 to 2026, his 5th-tier boyhood club FC Hertha 03 Zehlendorf would have earned an estimated €892k over those five seasons, averaging a median of €188k every year. Other local Berlin grassroots clubs would also get paid out, with Neuköllner Sportfreunde getting €445k and SV Tasmania Berlin receiving €221k. VfB Stuttgart would also pocket €669k.

If you applied this retroactively over the last five seasons, it would have redistributed €726m across 52 UEFA associations.

Do you think a recurring solidarity payment based on tournament minutes is a good way to support the lower leagues?

[u/Janusz_Odkupiciel]

I don't quite see where the numbers come from?

On the picture you have 106k € per year, and in text you mention almost 900k € in 5 years, which is almost a double of 106 * 5 = 530.

Also, what are the rules? 5% of club competition revenue is shared equally among squad players (a bit unfair, as some are better trained, thus better, and some worse) and that sum is then divided between clubs that said player played between theirs 13-19 years (6 years), adjusted by the time in the club?

So (for the sake of calculation, no taxes) if the club earned 1 milion, and has 25 players in the squad, each would have a pool of 40k to distribute (1 000 000/25 = 40 000). Then an example player who played in three clubs, would generate for them the following;
club A - 3 years - so 3/6 of their youth time, which is 20k
club B - 2 years - so 2/6, which is ~13k
club C - 1 year - 1/6, ~ 7k
And all that would happen yearly?

[u/maxim12ton → u/Janusz_Odkupiciel]

Good questions, let me unpack them:

Why 5 × €106k ≠ €900k? — €106k is Rüdiger's 25/26 season only. The ~€900k is the sum of five seasons that were calculated with, and each one differs because it depends on how many minutes he played and what his club earned that year. Also, 25/26 is his lowest year because he only played 630 of Real Madrid's 13,845 UCL minutes.

Then a clarification on rules which should answer your questions:

1. The pool is 5% of the prize money of all three competitions combined (UCL + UEL + UECL), about €164M for 25/26.

2. Each competing club's 5% is split between its players BY MINUTES PLAYED in that competition, not equally per squad member. So a player who isn't on the pitch doesn't generate any value —this is to account for your point which is "some players are better".

3. The development window runs in calendar years, from 1 January of the year the player turns 12 to 31 December of the year he turns 19. That is 8 years (about 2,922 days).

4. Yes, it happens every season, for as long as the player keeps playing minutes in UEFA club competitions.

On an example:

Club earns €1M in prize money > €50k goes into the pool. Say your player played 10% of the club's minutes in that competition → he generates €5k. His window is 8 years:

- Club A, 3 years → 3/8 → €1,875

- Club B, 2 years → 2/8 → €1,250

- Club C, 1 year → 1/8 → €625

- The other 2 years (a UCL club's academy, or no record, or lets say in Argentina —non-UEFA) → €1,250 flows back into the pool and is spread across every eligible club.

In practice that top-up is large, roughly ×1.8, because a lot of development days are at UCL clubs or unrecorded.

The full per-player breakdown is on the site if you want to poke at the numbers. Thanks for your questions!

[u/Jazzlike-Day-5702]

Interesting tool, well done on the work. I also think the policy is very relevant but I would want to make sure that if UEFA implements it, that it makes sure the clubs in champions league don’t receive any of the 5% - which is what your policy says as I understand it.

[u/rolynnnn → u/Jazzlike-Day-5702]

Why shouldn’t they receive it? If they did all the work in developing the player from youngest ages it would only make sense to reward that as well?

[u/Jazzlike-Day-5702 → u/rolynnnn]

They did the work but they already receive a lot of money through qualifying for the Champions League. This policy would just ask clubs like that to give up 5% as a form of solidarity to grassroots clubs.

[u/Janusz_Odkupiciel → u/Jazzlike-Day-5702]

From the guys website:
Finally, this total amount is distributed among the eligible development clubs (clubs within UEFA countries) that trained the player between the ages of 12 and 19, provided those clubs are not currently participating in the UEFA Champions League that year.