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The $100m soccer match

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Prepare yourself to see nearly $100 million go up for grabs in a single game of sport next week -- a match worth more than any Superbowl or World Cup final.

In fact, international accountancy firm Deloitte say it is the richest single game in any sport.

The prized event is actually a game of football -- but it's not the showpiece European Champions League final, which is being held in Rome on Wednesday night. So don't expect to see big-name football stars like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Instead, the stars in this lucrative show will be players like Steven Thompson and Darius Henderson -- men you've probably never heard of.

Yet, these players, from English football's second-tier clubs Burnley and Sheffield United, will be charged with the responsibility of winning the Championship play-off match at London's Wembley Stadium on Monday May 25 -- a game worth nearly $100 million (£60m) to the winning club.

The financial jackpot for the victor includes a $53m payment towards the coming season, and a minimum of $18m in each of the following two seasons.

The other prize for the 90-minute "all or nothing" game is entry into England's top-flight Premier League -- the most lucrative division in the sport. For the loser there are only the profits made from turnstile gate receipts.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sport Business group at accountancy firm Deloitte, told CNN the difference between the $100m reward for the winner and what the loser receives is larger than in any other single event of any sport.

"I can't think of a bigger one. People started talking about the Twenty20 for $20m cricket match when it came out -- but this is much bigger," he said.

The massive injection of money to the victor is largely due to the lucrative television rights deals for Premier League football matches. Earlier this year the Premier League secured a new set of television deals for the 2010-2013 seasons worth a record $2.70 billion (£1.782b).

The financial comparison between this match and the Champions League final -- which will be contested between Manchester United and FC Barcelona -- is remarkable.

While a 2008 study funded by MasterCard found that the winner of the Champions League could earn as much as $149m (€110m), Jones said the financial difference between winning an losing the final would be only around $6m.

"In terms of financial pressure -- if a player from Sheffield or Burnley steps up to take a penalty in that match -- they have a lot more riding on it than anyone in the Champions League would," he said.

There is also potential for the guaranteed $100m to get even sweeter for the victor. Jones told CNN that in addition to the direct pay-out benefits, most clubs also experience greater ticket-sales and can attract higher advertising and sponsorship revenue.

A club which managed to avoid relegation from the Premier League in the next season could gain a total of more than $100m as a result of winning the match. A club that did drop back down would still receive the "parachute payment" of $18m for two further seasons, Jones said.

It's not an easy road for the team that wins this match, however. Of all the play-off match winners in the last decade, only three -- Bolton, West Ham and Hull City -- remain in the top flight.

Fuente: edition.cnn.com

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The $100m soccer match LONDON, England (CNN) -- Prepare yourself to see nearly $100 million go up for grabs in a single game of sport next week -- a match worth more than any Superbowl or World Cup final. In fact, internati ....

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