Some matches are worth a trophy. Some are worth glory. And then there is the Championship playoff final, one game that can change the financial future of an entire club.
On Saturday, Southampton, with Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz in goal, are due to face Hull City at Wembley with a place in the Premier League on the line. But this year, the match known in England as “the richest game in world football” has been thrown into turmoil by an espionage scandal that could reshape the final before the opening whistle.
The prize is enormous. Promotion to the Premier League can be worth nearly £300 million ($402 million) to the winning club through broadcast income, participation payments, commercial revenue and parachute payments if the club is later relegated. For a Championship team, one successful afternoon at Wembley can mean entry into the most lucrative league in world soccer.
But Southampton arrive at the biggest game of their season under a cloud. The club is at the center of a “Spygate” affair that has shaken English soccer and raised questions over whether it will even be allowed to take part in the final.
The richest game in soccer
The biggest share of the promotion windfall comes from Premier League broadcast rights. Sky bought the rights three years ago for £6.7 billion ($8.98 billion), and every promoted club immediately receives tens of millions of pounds in its first season, before bonuses for league position or sporting success are even counted.
Even if a promoted team goes straight back down after one season, it still receives parachute payments intended to soften the financial blow of relegation. Those payments add tens of millions of pounds over several years, meaning even a brief stay in the Premier League can transform a club’s balance sheet.
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Promotion to the Premier League can be worth nearly $402 million
(Photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The gap between the Premier League and the Championship is vast. In 2018, for example, every Premier League club received at least £94.7 million ($126.9 million), while Manchester City, the champion that year, brought in £149.4 million ($200.2 million) from league payments alone.
According to calculations in England, a club that survives two seasons in the Premier League before relegation can bring in at least £288 million ($385.9 million).
Promotion also changes the commercial picture almost immediately. New sponsors arrive, season-ticket prices rise, shirt sales climb and global exposure grows dramatically. Clubs promoted in previous years have reported revenue doubling within months.
Fulham, a club comparable in size to Southampton, earned £24.4 million ($32.7 million) from sponsorships and stadium sales in the 2013-14 season. After relegation from the Premier League, that figure fell to £12.6 million ($16.9 million) in 2016-17.
Wage budgets show the same divide. Fulham’s Championship wage bill stood at £37.1 million ($49.7 million) at the time, while the Premier League average had already reached £113.9 million ($152.6 million).
For Southampton and Hull, then, Wembley is not merely a final. It is a financial crossroads.
Southampton’s ‘Spygate’ storm
The problem is that, for now, it is not entirely clear whether Southampton will be one of the two teams contesting the prize, or whether the match will take place as scheduled.
Southampton is facing allegations of an unprecedented spying incident in the Championship after Middlesbrough claimed that one of the Saints’ analysts was seen at its training ground hiding in bushes and filming a closed training session two days before the first leg of the playoff semifinal between the clubs, which ended 0-0.
According to the allegations, the analyst also recorded instructions given by Middlesbrough coach Kim Hellberg during the session.
The English Football League has taken the matter seriously. It has formally charged Southampton with breaching two regulations. One requires clubs to act in good faith toward each other. The other explicitly bans watching or attempting to watch a rival’s training session within 72 hours of an official match between the teams.
The case has drawn huge attention in England because the relevant rule was tightened after the famous 2019 spying scandal involving Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa. At the time, the punishment was limited to a financial fine. Since then, however, stricter regulations have been introduced, including the possibility of direct sporting sanctions.
Middlesbrough is convinced Southampton should not escape with only a fine. The club is reportedly preparing for the possibility that it could be called up at the last minute to replace Southampton in the Wembley final, which is why its players have been asked to continue training as usual despite their elimination.
The disciplinary hearing before an independent panel is expected to take place Friday, just four days before the planned final. The league has asked Southampton to respond to the charges with unusual speed because of the urgency surrounding the match.
Southampton tries to calm the storm
Southampton CEO Phil Parsons has tried to lower the temperature around the affair.
“The club is cooperating fully with the English Football League and the disciplinary commission, while also conducting an internal review to ensure that all the facts and the full context are established,” he said. “We understand the public discussion and speculation, but it is important that the full picture becomes clear before conclusions are drawn.”
Manager Tonda Eckert also addressed the controversy, saying the club “takes the matter very seriously,” but declined to say more while the investigation is ongoing.
Middlesbrough manager Hellberg, however, has made no effort to hide his anger after the dramatic semifinal defeat.
“If we hadn’t caught the person they sent, everyone would have said what a brilliant tactical game they played,” he said. “We work day and night to prepare a team fairly, and then someone decides to film a training session and gain an advantage that way. It breaks your heart.”
Beyond the sporting questions, the case has created a major logistical problem for the EFL. If a ruling is not issued in time, the final could be postponed.
That would not be simple. Wembley’s calendar is already crowded, with the women’s FA Cup final, the rugby cup final and major music events scheduled at the stadium in the coming weeks. A postponement could also affect players due to join national teams ahead of the upcoming World Cup. Middlesbrough midfielder Aidan Morris, for example, is being monitored by the U.S. national team, and any schedule change could disrupt preparations.
Daniel Peretz’s English breakthrough
Amid the scandal and the huge financial stakes, there is also a major Israeli storyline.
Peretz’s move to Southampton in January has turned into a success story. After a frustrating spell on the bench at Bayern Munich and a disappointing loan at Hamburg, where he barely played, the Israeli goalkeeper arrived in England and finally received a real stage.
Once he took over as Southampton’s Championship goalkeeper, he seized the opportunity. His performances between the posts quickly made him one of the key figures in the side and earned him the affectionate nickname “Iron Dome” from local supporters, a tribute to a string of remarkable saves.
Peretz soon became the backbone of the Saints’ defense and helped lead them on a stunning run that included an FA Cup semifinal appearance. Along the way, Southampton recorded sensational wins over Arsenal and Fulham before eventually being knocked out by Manchester City.
He also played a major role in the playoff semifinal drama, producing a standout performance as Southampton beat Middlesbrough 2-1 after extra time in the second leg to secure, at least for now, a place in the Wembley final.
The connection between Peretz and the Southampton fans has grown quickly. He was even nominated by supporters for the club’s player of the season award.
Reports in England and Germany say Southampton holds an option to buy Peretz from Bayern Munich for 7 to 8 million euros. The club is pushing to activate the clause and keep him for another season, with the final decision expected after the promotion game. That is, of course, assuming Southampton is allowed to play it.
If Southampton and Hull City walk out of the Wembley tunnel as planned, the conversation around the final will be unavoidable. Hundreds of millions of pounds are on the line. So is a place in the Premier League. Hovering over everything is the spying scandal that has embarrassed Southampton and unsettled English soccer.
For Peretz, the stakes are personal as well as professional. A victory could carry him into the Premier League, complete a remarkable turnaround after difficult months in Germany and turn him into one of the central Israeli figures in English soccer.