Rangers have been given an additional incentive to win the 2020/21 Betfred Cup after the prize money on offer increased significantly.
The Gers are looking to end a long stint without lifting major silverware after a promising start to last season eventually yielded nothing.
Rangers dominated the play but lost the League Cup final 1-0 to Celtic in December before crashing out of the Scottish Cup at Hearts in February and slipping to 13 points behind Celtic before the league campaign was ended due to the global health crisis.
They’re aiming to improve on those efforts this time around though, and bringing home the Betfred Cup will bring a bigger cash reward than the Hoops scooped just prior to the turn of the year.
That’s because the SPFL have announced a 17% increase in prize money, leaving the total pot at £2.6m.
The minimum amount any one team will win is £20,000, while the winners will bank a tidy £300,000.
The hike is in part due to a tweak to the broadcasting rights for matches, as clubs will now be permitted to live stream their first-round games on a pay-per-view basis via their in-house digital media services, provided the fixture hasn’t been selected for broadcast by Premier Sports.
“This is an extremely welcome development, given the ongoing restrictions on supporters attending matches and we all look forward to another exciting competition in the months ahead,” said SPFL CEO Neil Doncaster, as quoted by the Glasgow Times.
After all the financial uncertainty caused by the global health crisis, it’s positive news both that more prize money is available and that there will be a chance to bring money in from individual fixtures even if fans aren’t allowed through the turnstiles.
Steven Gerrard’s desire to win the competition will hardly have been drastically impacted by these developments, but extra money into the club won’t hurt and if Rangers do end their long wait for silverware in this year’s competition, they’ll pocket a record amount.
