This Sunday, Atlético Nacional and Deportes Tolima will dispute the last contest for the trophy of the first league of 2022 from 7:00 pm. The duel for the throne of Colombian Professional Soccer will not only be lived in the soccer field; the final is also played on the business field, with a pulse between the sponsors who will be proclaimed champions along with the winning team.
90 minutes separate purslane and pijaos from the first star of the year. After the first leg in Medellín, the overall result travels to Ibagué with a balance in favor of three goals to one for the Paisa squad. But the dispute goes beyond a simple trophy.
To start there are the prizes for the winning club. First of all, the champion will receive US$500,000 after being crowned with the first edition of the year of the Betplay League. In addition to this, it will secure US$3 million for its participation in the next Copa Libertadores 2023. The highest tournament at the South American club level also awards additional prizes for home wins.
In addition to these two bonuses for participation, Conmebol has a prize pool for television rights; As each team advances in the round, its income will increase, and if it is also the only team that continues to represent the country, it will obtain higher income.
In the purely local sphere, professional league teams receive an average of $7,000 million, according to Dimayor. The figure is calculated in relation to the emergence of the Win Sports premium channel in 2021. In the distribution of television rights, 90% is distributed with the same percentage for teams in the first category; on the other hand, the remaining 10% is disbursed to Category B teams with less history.
For Marc Ciria, an economics expert related to sports, “television rights and team sponsors can represent more than 50% of their income per season.” Another issue that is fundamental for football teams is sponsors. , either of a main nature, appearing embodied in the competition jerseys, or in a secondary way through advertising in sports venues or national and international rental stadiums. In the game, indirectly, 15 sponsors will face each other.
In the case of Atlético Nacional, its main sponsor is Postobón; the company of the Ardila Lülle Organization is the main bastion of the Antioquia club. In addition to this, at the beginning of the year the club announced the arrival of Aguardiente Antioqueño, which will provide capital for the formation of the payroll for 2022. The Colombian multi-champion is dressed by the American brand Nike. Juan David Londoño, a journalist for Goal Colombia, adds “the history that Nacional represents weighs heavily when it comes to defining sponsors, being a two-time continental champion gives a special cache.”
For Deportes Tolima, Andrés Felipe Ibargüen, who arrived at the institution in a condition of freedom, has a market value close to US$ 1.5 million. Next to the extreme we can find Jeisón Lucumi, who arrived under the same conditions and increased his market value to US $ 1 million.
In the case of purslane, the value of its players has been in men from its lower divisions: Sebastián Gómez and Kevin Mier have a market value of US$1.3 million.
Atlético Nacional and Deportes Tolima are 90 minutes away from sporting and economic glory, but the match will surely continue to take place in the legal arena due to recent lawsuits filed by the pijaos.
A party that will bring legal consequences in the short and long term
Deportes Tolima announced through its social networks that it would demand the first leg of the grand final, due to the alleged improper inclusion of the Atlético Nacional player Giovanni Moreno. The purslane box striker was suspended after starring in confrontations with Millonarios fans on date five of the home runs. 24 hours before the first leg of the final, Dimayor reduced the sanction based on championship regulations; the tolimense squad argues that this decision violated, however, the regulations.
