The emotional ending of the match between Sporting Cristal vs. Huracán at Estadio Nacional meant a sports achievement, but also an economic one. Irven Ávila's agonizing goal in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores third phase gave the team the pass to the long-awaited group stage and, at the same time, an important amount of money.
Just by participating in the different stages of the international tournament, CONMEBOL awards a certain amount of dollars, depending on the stage. For example, the teams that participated in the first stage (Sport Huancayo, in Peru's case) were awarded four hundred thousand dollars. In the second stage, Sporting Cristal - the national representative - received five hundred thousand dollars. After overcoming Nacional and qualifying for the third stage, they obtained six hundred thousand more. Regardless of what happened in the Huracán match, the team secured over one million dollars.
However, participation in the group stage is undoubtedly much more important in economic terms. The amount assigned by CONMEBOL to each participating team in that stage, including Sporting Cristal, is three million dollars: one million for each home game. In total, the club has collected four million one hundred thousand dollars. And the earnings could be even higher.
For this edition, the organizing entity of the Copa Libertadores announced that it will award three hundred thousand dollars for sporting merit in the group stage. In other words, the teams that win each of the six matches they play will receive an economic bonus. If any team achieves a perfect score, they can add one million eight hundred thousand dollars through this concept. Undoubtedly, a significant motivation.