Win for the prize list
It is obvious that it is worth recalling: all the actors in this final will play above all to add a line to their CV. And what a line. If the title of Belgian champion remains the supreme reward for any professional player in the Kingdom, the Belgian Cup is the second most prestigious trophy.
The Union may have the third national prize list, with eleven Belgian championship titles – all acquired before the Second World War – but its cup cabinet is not very full. Since its foundation in 1897, number 10 has played in two finals for two victories. But that dates back to before… the First World War: in 1913 (3-2 victory against Cercle de Bruges) and in 1914 (4-1 against Club).
For many Saint-Gilles players, this would be their first major trophy. Some Yellow and Blue have already been national champions (Mac Allister, Machida, Moris without playing with Standard in 2009, etc.) but alone Alessio Castro-Montes (Ghent, 2022), Mohammed Amoura (Lugano, 2022) and Matthias Rasmussen (Brann Bergen, 2023) can boast of having won a National Cup by having actually played.
On the Antwerp side, we arrive with the experience of the finals won in 2023 and 2020.
Win to secure Europe until December
This is the second big challenge of this final: getting a better European ticket than the one it already has, for the Union. And a European ticket, in short, for a Antwerp adrift in the league and who risks finishing last in the Champions playoffs and with nothing in hand, in the event of defeat on Thursday.
If the Union is already assured of obtaining the fourth of the five Belgian seeds thanks to winning the classic phase, there is great added value in getting the Cup winner's ticket since it would allow its 2024 campaign to start -25 no longer in the second preliminary round of the Europa League, but in the last round (play-offs). With its good European coefficient, the Union would be seeded there. Not only would she only have one more round to go, but, in the event of failure, she would be sent to the Conference League group stage, which is not the case with her current ticket. We understand that winning the Cup would allow RUSG – or Antwerp – to secure its European future until at least December.
Win for the (small) prize money
The main financial income comes from assured participation in the European Cup, which brought in €12.8 million in 2022-23 and around 9 million this season. As such, the Cup victory does not bring much, let's say it straight away. Participants in this competition organized by the Pro League from the round of 16 onwards receive winnings linked to the redistribution of television and commercial rights in each round. According to our information, the winner would collect, for their entire journey, just over €200,000. Count around €50,000 less for the loser.
The final ensures a good ticket sales return
But this finale pays off differently. Winner and loser will receive the entire sale of their 19,000 tickets, sold at €35 or €70. Or a nice ticket check which is around a million euros.
Winning to boost morale
Finally, the last advantage, much less tangible but which could not be negligible at all: winning this final would allow this generation of Unionists to lift a first major title, after having missed out on the title in 2022 and 2023. Anthony Moris and his team would be like breaking a glass ceiling and showing Belgium that this team is not doomed to repeatedly miss out on the golden watch.
With this trophy in their pocket and the assurance of a nice European ticket, Alexander Blessin's players would arrive in Bruges on Monday, their morale (re)inflated. They would have nothing left to lose in the last three matches and could play liberated on the lawn of the Jan Breydel stadium. And, who knows?, relaunch the title race once again by winning, as they did during the 2023 playoffs?
