If you thought you couldn’t put a price on Robbie Brady’s goal, you’d be dead wrong.
Five minutes left in normal time. Ireland are looking set for an early flight home from the tournament. The sea of green in the enclosed stadium are screaming their support – hoping, praying even, that the Boys In Green can do what few people expected of them – defeat the group leaders.
Then, after missing a glorious opportunity to become Ireland’s hero minutes earlier, Wes Hoolahan played an outrageous cross to find Robbie Brady. With only the keeper left to beat, Brady headed it into the Italian net causing the fans to erupt with unadulterated joy.
A magical moment, yes, but the goal itself wasn’t priceless.
Robbie Brady showed what the future can be like on one of the greatest nights in #IRL's football history https://t.co/04LIFbRU0N
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 23, 2016
There was a considerable increase in prize money at Euro 2016 compared to past tournaments. The 24 national teams who qualified will share a total of €301m compared to the €196m distributed in Poland and Ukraine four years ago and the €184m at Euro 2012.
All 24 teams will receive a participating fee of €8m. However, each team earns an extra €1m for winning a group game (€500,000 for a draw) and another €1.5m for making it to the round of 16.
This means that the monetary value attached to Brady’s goal is €2.5 million for the FAI. However, to him, his teammates and a lot of Irish supporters, it was absolutely priceless.
