Sunderland AFC set to pocket a share of €70million handout in a timely financial boost

A host of clubs from around Europe will receive payments from UEFA having released their players for European Championship qualifiers, with Sunderland one of 676 clubs set to pocket a share of the early payout.

As has become commonplace in major tournaments, clubs whose players are called away on international duty are financially compensated for their absence. For Euro 2020, payments are also being made for club’s who have lost players to qualifying fixtures.

Sunderland will receive a small share of the total figure of €70million having seen Jon McLaughlin, Tom Flanagan and Conor McLaughlin handed call-ups to the Scotland and Northern Ireland squads respectively. Kyle Lafferty’s previous international appearances do not count, as he was not registered with the Wearsiders when he last took to the field for Northern Ireland.

These payments were set to be made when the Euro 2020 qualifying process was completed - with a number of play-off fixtures still outstanding - but the UEFA Executive Committee have now decided to speed-up these payments in the light of the financial challenges facing clubs.

It will come as a welcome boost for Sunderland, who could yet pocket further revenue should Conor McLaughlin, Flanagan and Lafferty feature in Northern Ireland’s play-off tie with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The exact amount received by Sunderland will not be communicated until the completion of the European Championships next summer.

Should Northern Ireland qualify, the Black Cats would also be entitled to further payments should any of their players be named in the final squad for the tournament.

Commenting on the decision, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, said: "European clubs are an integral part of the success of our national team competitions.

“As a result, a share of our national team competition revenues is distributed to the clubs which release players for those matches.

“In these difficult times when many clubs are facing financial issues, especially with their cash flow, it was our duty to make sure that clubs receive these payments as quickly as possible."