Lionesses face significant prize money cut despite Euros 2025 victory


The Lionesses took victory over Spain in a tense final.


Leah Williamson of England looks dejected during the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Final match between England and Spain at St. Jakob-Park on July 27, 2025 in Basel, Switzerland© Getty
Isabel DruganSocial Media Coordinator
July 31, 2025
Share this:

It's been all joy and celebration since the Lionesses took victory in the Women's Euros

The team came together in a tense final against Spain to win the title of European Champions on penalties. 

Once back in England, they were honoured with an open-top bus parade through London and a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. 

But the stars of Sarina Wiegman's winning team might lose a large chunk of their prize money, which already pales in comparison to that of their male counterparts. 

How much is the Euro 2025 prize money? 

UEFA offered a record amount of prize money for the 2025 Women's Euros. A whopping £34 million was on offer for the 16 teams competing in the tournament. 

All teams were granted a £1.5 million participation fee for qualifying. 

© Getty
The Lionesses were honoured with an open-top bus tour through London

They could then receive performance bonuses: £43,000 for a draw and £86,000 for a win in the group stages, with other bonuses for the quarter-finals and semi-finals. 

That means there was a staggering £4.4 million on offer for the champions, including bonuses, if they won all three of their group stage matches, which England did not. 

Players were guaranteed a share of the money, as each national association had to allocate between 30% and 40% of its total tournament earnings to its players. 

How much will the Lionesses lose - and why? 

Tax, accounting and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg has called the Lionesses' Euros victory "a big win for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)". 

Robert Salter, Director at the firm, warned that the Lionesses could lose over £750,000 to tax. 

"The Lionesses will be delighted with their win at Euro 2025 for what it represents and the hard work that went into it, but they will have a hefty tax bill to pay to HMRC on their prize money, at a combined total tax and National Insurance Contributions (NIC) liability of roughly £788,900 for the whole squad," he said in a statement on the company's website. 

© Getty
Each Lioness could stand to lose around £34,000 due to tax laws

According to Blick Rothenberg, the average bonus per player came to around £73,000, meaning that each of them would be subject to an income tax rate of 47 - 45% and 2% NIC. 

All in all, this could mean each Lioness has to pay around £34,000 in tax. 

How does this compare to the men's prize money? 

Although the 2025 tournament had this record-breaking amount of money on offer, marking a 156% increase from the 2022 Euros, there is still a notable gap between the men's and women's tournaments. 

© Getty
If they had won, the England men's team would have received £14 million in bonuses

While the women's tournament had £35 million on offer in total, the prize money on offer at last year's men's Euros was around £287 million. 

The England men's team, who reached the Euro final in 2024, could have taken bonus winnings of £14 million had they won - compared to the £1.5 million available to the Lionesses.

Join HELLO! Daily and get the latest celebrity news, exclusive interviews, and top stories

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information please click here.

More News
See more