Greece and Czech Republic Offer Best Value for Money

LONDON, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- bwin's Player Value Index challenges footballers' wages after England leaves Euro 2012

The bwin Player Value Index started out as a light-hearted alternative view of how teams would perform at the Euro 2012 Soccer Tournament, but it has delivered results that should cause some concern to UEFA. England's 2.1million € plus weekly wage team, and France, the second highest paid team, were both eliminated in the quarter finals producing value-for-money index scores of -4 and -3, while The Netherlands (also a 1million € plus team) finished bottom of their group, offering the worst return on wages of all teams in the competition (bwin Player Value Index of -7).

According to this index, there has been no direct correlation between wages and success at the Euro 2012 Championship, which may raise concerns for UEFA and some of the national associations about the way the game is run.  England players cost their clubs almost 40% more than their German counterparts, who are the current favourites - the market may want to know just how this is justified?  Furthermore, French players cost almost five times more than Greek players, yet both teams reached the same stage in the competition, surely a point for concern?

The bwin Player Value Index (BPVI), which includes all teams of the EURO 2012, was first published on the 7^th June and correctly predicted that Spain and Germany would offer excellent value for money from their players' wages. It also predicted that England, Ireland and Sweden would provide poor returns from their wage bills. However, the biggest disappointment from every aspect was The Netherlands - highly paid and well backed, the team failed to deliver against expectations.

Warren Lush, Euro 2012 spokesperson at bwin, said; "We correctly predicted that Spain and Germany would deliver good value for money. France has performed no better or worse than you should expect of such a well-paid team, and Italy are doing better than we predicted. However, there are teams that have left the competition at the group stages, which provide their associations with better value for money than some of those still in it. Greece has been a revelation and has outperformed everyone's expectations by reaching the quarter finals."

bwin is now planning to apply its Player Value Index to future soccer competitions, and, where wage data exists, to other sports. "If we can do it, it would be great to work out which Grand Prix driver is providing his team with the best return on investment, or maybe how wages affect Handball in Germany or Ice Hockey in Poland. It has certainly been an interesting exercise to apply the idea across the Euro 2012 tournament," concluded Warren Lush.

                                    Average
                                weekly wage
    Wage Ranking           Team         EUR Wage Bill EUR Odds Odds Rank Index

    14                   Greece  EUR 17,605   EUR 404,918    -         5     9
    12           Czech Republic  EUR 20,671   EUR 475,434    -         5     7
    16                  Denmark  EUR 15,033   EUR 345,748    -         9     7
    13                  Ukraine  EUR 17,807   EUR 409,554    -         9     4
    4                   Germany  EUR 68,758 EUR 1,581,425 2.50         1     3
    5                     Spain  EUR 66,768 EUR 1,535,675 2.70         2     3
    7                  Portugal  EUR 41,663   EUR 958,249 6.50         4     3
    15                   Poland  EUR 15,465   EUR 355,691    -        13     2
    10                   Russia  EUR 30,569   EUR 703,086    -         9     1
    3                     Italy  EUR 73,717 EUR 1,695,495 6.25         3     0
    8                   Croatia  EUR 36,268   EUR 834,175    -         9    -1
    11                  Ireland  EUR 29,333   EUR 674,660    -        13    -2
    2                    France  EUR 84,923 EUR 1,953,220    -         5    -3
    1                   England  EUR 94,630 EUR 2,176,480    -         5    -4
    9                    Sweden  EUR 34,680   EUR 797,636    -        13    -4
    6               Netherlands  EUR 44,236 EUR 1,017,419    -        13    -7

Upated 25/06/2012

Notes to editors:

The 'bwin Player Value Index' shows which teams customers think offer the best value for money. The research was compiled by looking at individual player wages for each EURO 2012 team, then calculating the index by ranking salaries and comparing against the odds for each team. Currently Denmark tops the BVPI reflecting a team that over-achieves from limited resources, whereas the market currently sees England, Sweden and Ireland players as 'over paid'.

bwin will be monitoring performance of the teams throughout the tournament and regularly updating the bwin player value index which can be found at http://bwinbetting.com/euro-2012/england/filthy-rich-england-stars-shocking-money-euro-2012,20954.html

Contact details:
Bwin spokesperson
Warren Lush, [email protected]
http://www.bwin.com

Press contacts: For more information, please contact Rosie Everard [email protected] or Charlayne Iwanczuk [email protected] / +44(0)113-391-2929

SOURCE bwin