Why the £3m prize fund of the 2028 European Athletics Championships changes the game

When I was a young commentator, I used to think European athletics had only two kinds of money: sponsorship money and medal money. But the latest announcement from European Athletics has broken that prejudice. The 2028 European Athletics Championships in Silesia, Poland, will award prize money to the top eight in all 50 events, with a total fund of around €3.5 million, equivalent to £3 million. This number is not just a prize-money record; it is a structural change that professionals need to read carefully. What is striking is not the amount of money, but the way it is distributed. The old model used World Athletics scoring tables to select the 10 best performances, each receiving €50,000. That was a lottery for exceptional individuals. The new model pays by finishing position: first gets €30,000, second €15,000, third €10,000, then €5,000, €4,000, €3,000, €2,000 and €1,000 for eighth place. Multiply that by 50 events and you get €3.5 million. This is a predictable payroll, not a variable bonus. Looking at history, this is the first time a European Championships has paid based on placing across the whole programme. Previously, major events like the Olympics or the World Championships had almost no official prize money; honour was the only reward. Now, European athletics is bringing prize money down to the continental tier, turning them into commercially meaningful events. European Athletics says it wants to financially recognise athletes, and that is clear in the spread-out payout structure. I remember Birmingham 2026 when Great Britain and Northern Ireland won 19 medals, nine of them gold. But none of those gold medals earned the €50,000 bonus under the old model, because that bonus was reserved for performances with the highest scoring-table points, not for winners. That paradox will be fixed in 2028: the winner will be paid as the winner. The economics behind this decision are clear. With a €3.5 million fund split across the top eight of 50 events, nations with deep squads will benefit the most. Britain, Poland, Germany, Italy – athletics powers with many athletes capable of reaching top eight – will collect far more money than a small nation with a single flash of brilliance. In other words, the new model is an implicit subsidy for team depth. But there is a detail that many articles may miss: the £3 million prize fund is only a record for the European Championships, not for the whole sport. World Athletics has just announced a three-day Ultimate Championship in Budapest with a $10 million prize pot, around £7.4 million, calling it the largest in the history of the sport. Put side by side, we see a prize-money arms race between organisers. This raises the question: does raising prize money mean the level of European athletics is rising? The answer is not necessarily. The article provides no specific performance data, no wind or altitude figures, no form updates for any athlete. Prize money is one thing; competitive level is another. If we conflate the two, we will draw the wrong conclusion. I learned that by following matches nobody watches: a big investment does not automatically create a better generation of athletes. The contrarian view is this: the placing-based model actually reduces the reward for extraordinary performances. Previously, an athlete who unexpectedly set a national record could pocket €50,000 thanks to a high scoring-table mark. In 2028, that money will be split among the top eight, and the winner receives only €30,000. In other words, the new model favours consistency and depth over individual explosions. For nations with thin squads, this is a challenge. A small country cannot put many athletes into top eight across many events, so their total prize money may fall compared to the old model. In contrast, Poland as the 2028 host, with home advantage and a large team, is almost certain to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. But there is a bigger risk: from ninth place down, athletes receive nothing. The €3.5 million fund sounds large, but when spread over about 400 payouts, the bottom of the scale is only €1,000 for eighth place. So the story of an increasingly wealthy athletics world is only true for a small group. Most athletes at the championships will still rely on sponsorships, contracts and other income sources. I often tell young colleagues that stars are not born in finals, but in matches nobody watches. The athletes finishing sixth or seventh in less visible events are the ones who need prize money most. They have no big sponsorship deals, no invites to gala events, but they still train six days a week to reach a top eight. For them, €1,000 is not small change. The story of the 2028 European Championships also has another layer. When World Athletics launched the Ultimate Championship with $10 million, continental events were forced to react. If they did not raise prize money, they risked losing their best athletes to richer events. So the £3 million fund may be a defensive move rather than a long-term strategy. This leads to a progressive thought: prize money should not be the final measure of sport's development. It is part of the ecosystem, but not everything. I want to see a day when we talk about the European Championships not just through the prize fund number, but through stories of athletes overcoming their own limits. The stadium may not be full yet, but the heart is still beating. In a place nobody notices, I find what the whole world will later talk about. The 2028 prize fund may be one of those things. Not because the amount is huge, but because it changes how we think about a continental championship. It turns the European Championships from a place of honour into a place of livelihood. And that, whether we like it or not, will shape how national federations invest in athletes. Again, I want to stress: the prize-money equation is not the same as the performance equation. We need to look at results data from upcoming meets to judge whether competitiveness has truly increased. Until then, treat the £3 million fund as a commercial signal, not evidence of European athletics quality. To the athletes dreaming of a top-eight finish in Silesia, I say: prepare for a tougher competition, because now every placing has a price. But do not forget that the real value of sport is not the number in your bank account. It is in the unseen strides, the sweat on the track, and the belief that one day your effort will be recognised. The 2028 prize fund opens a new era, but it also raises questions: can other events keep up? Will small nations be left behind? Is the prize-money race sustainable? I do not have absolute answers, but I know that sports people will have to rethink how they value an athlete. And that is when sport truly changes. Look at the 2028 European Championships not only as a sporting event, but as a test of athletics' new economic model. If it succeeds, we will see other events follow. If it fails, we will learn a lesson about the limits of money. Whatever the outcome, the athletes' journey deserves to be told. And that is why I am still here, writing about them. Money does not score goals, but people still ask who will be paid. That question, by 2028, will have a clear answer: those who finish in the top eight. As for me, the more important answer is: those who dared to stand on the track, regardless of placing. They are the true winners.