EFL Trophy prize money will 'help' Cobblers as club earn six figures from run to semi-final
Kevin Nolan says the prize money Cobblers have earned from reaching the last four of the Vertu Trophy – which now stands at over £100k – is an added bonus for their success in the competition.
Town are in the semi-finals of the EFL Trophy for the first time in the club's history thanks to Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over AFC Wimbledon. Jack Vale and Tom Eaves were on target at Plough Lane, making it six wins from six in this year’s competition.
Nolan has regularly stressed his desire to do well in cup competitions since taking charge nearly 14 months, and in addition to the sporting side of it, there’s the extra perk of bringing important revenue into the club.
Clubs are given £20,000 each for participating in the competition and then each group stage victory earns £10,000, followed by £20,000 for winning in the round of 32, £40,000 for winning the round of 16 and £50,000 for winning the quarter-finals. Should Cobblers reach the final, they will be guaranteed another £50,000, with the winners taking £100,000.
"We're working hard behind the scenes so we can be successful in different competitions and that’s one way the club can earn more money,” said Nolan after Tuesday’s win. “It all helps and you ease things by having success in the cups and going on runs and that's what we want to do.
"I said we built a squad in the summer so we could be competitive in all competitions. It didn’t happen in the other two cups but we’ve been really good in this competition. The players who played tonight, including all of the subs, should be proud of themselves, and so should the lads who are back home because they've also played their part in our run to this point.”
Cobblers are now just 90 minutes away from Wembley, but with so many games to come in the next few weeks, any thoughts of a day out in the capital are a long way from Nolan’s mind.
"I'm not going to start talking about Wembley just yet,” he added. “There's lots and lots of games before then and it's one game at a time. If we're lucky enough to get to Wembley, we'll all go and enjoy it and we'd obviously love to come back with the trophy, but there's a long way to go.”