Europa League play-off final worth £192k to Bala Town or Cardiff Metropolitan

This Sunday’s Europa League play-off final between Bala Town and Cardiff Metropolitan is worth approximately £192k for the winners.

Cardiff Metropolitan’s shock victory over Caernarfon Town in front of a packed crowd at The Oval means they will play Bala Town at Maes Tegid, after the Lakesiders beat Newtown at Latham Park on Friday evening. 

The Archers are chasing European football for the first time whilst Bala Town for a fifth consecutive season. 

The victor of the playoff final will join Barry Town United in the preliminary rounds, with the home and away legs taking place between 27th June and the 4th July, meaning whoever wins between Bala and Met, will face a European fixture just six weeks after their playoff win. 

The £192k game… at least!

According to Football-Coefficient.EU, Bala Town and Cefn Druids earned €200,000 from their preliminary round exits. 

Bala Town exited Europe after being humbled by Sammarinese side Tre Fiori over two legs. 

Should either Bala Town or Cardiff Metropolitan progress past the preliminary rounds then not only will they earn £192k, but they will also then earn a further £209k, taking the tally up to £401k worth of European money.

Bala Town have three wins in Europe out of a possible ten, meaning they could be seeded for the preliminary draw should they qualify.

For Cardiff Metropolitan, they have no European experience, meaning they could be unseeded in the draw. 

Play-off previous 

Both sides have been involved in the UEFA Europa League play-offs, with both sides reaching the finals in their appearances.

For Met, it’s more fresher for them. They’ve tasted defeat in the last two finals, both being away in North Wales at Bangor and Cefn Druids.

On Sunday, they make a return to the Gwynedd, hoping to make it a third time lucky. In both games they’ve lost by just the singular goal. 

Bala Town would have been involved in the playoffs last season, had Bangor City obtained the Licence, however the Lakesiders instead automatically qualified, taking Bangor’s automatic place.

Their last playoff final was in 2012/2013 when they beat Port Talbot Town to qualify for Europe for the first time. Since then they have earned second-placed finishes and also qualified via winning the Welsh Cup.

What’s the state of play of Welsh clubs in Europe?

Connah’s Quay once again will bypass the preliminary rounds and be placed into Round One of Qualifying after Arsenal and Chelsea both reached this season’s Europa League final in Baku. 

Tottenham Hotspurs’ fourth-placed finish in the Premier League also means The New Saints will be seeded for the 1st Qualifying Round, bypassing teams like Celtic and former Champions League winners Red Star Belgrade.

The New Saints begin their Champions League qualifying campaign on either the 9th or 10th July, with the second leg scheduled on either the 16th or 17th July.  

The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds for the UEFA Champions League will take place on the 18th June.

Barry Town United and the winners of the play-off final will enter at the preliminary rounds stage. 

The three Welsh Premier League clubs involved in the UEFA Europa League will find out on the 11th June who they will face in the preliminary rounds, then a week later will find out their potential first and second qualifying round opponents on the 19th June.

(Featured Image: Naomi Jones)