CNN
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It has been called ‘football’s richest match’, but for Luton Town and Coventry City, Saturday’s Championship final means much more than just money.
The match at Wembley Stadium in London guarantees a place in the English Premier League next season, but it also indicates a significant rise for both teams, who played each other in the fourth tier of the English Premier League pyramid only five years ago.
According to Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, the winner of Saturday’s Championship Final will earn $211m (£170m) over the next three seasons through “anticipated increases to their commercial and matchday revenue and Premier League Central revenue insurance”.
That would rise to $360m (£290m) if the club avoided relegation in their first season.
After a long, grueling season – consisting of 46 league games and two semi-final matches, one side’s promotion and potential turnaround will be decided by Saturday and, for the loser, dismay and disappointment.
The journey from the lower echelons of English football to the brink of the Premier League has been a long and winding one for both teams, who have suffered financial difficulties and constant relegation and setbacks.
Luton were one of the founder members of the Premier League in 1992, having been in the top flight of English football the previous season and having voted in favor of organizing it. The season has been relegated before it was introduced.
“It was annoying because we voted for the Premier League to come into being but then we were relegated, so we never really set foot in it, and we never got a taste of any of the financial fortunes that were made that way,” said Kevin Harper, a Luton fan of more than 35 years. and a member of the Luton Town Supporters Association, according to CNN Chief Sports Analyst Darren Lewis this week.
Over the next almost 20 years, the club suffered five relegations, three administrations and was penalized with 40 points worth of total deductions as it slid further down the rungs of the football pyramid in England.
The descent was so steep that 10 years earlier, Luton were in the fifth tier of English football and out of the Football League. Harper described the club as “absolutely on its knees”.
But through smart signings, effective managers and a new ownership group, the club progressed through the leagues slowly but surely.
Welshman Nathan Jones successfully captained the team over two spells, but it was his compatriot Rob Edwards who brought the club within 90 minutes of reaching the promised land of the Premier League.
The prospect of Premier League stars stepping into their boots and playing at Luton’s old school ground, Kenilworth Road, could come as a culture shock to them.
The ground, which was built in 1905, seats just over 10,000 and has many period features – including wooden terracing and an entrance which provides a view of the terraced residence gardens that line the pitch. It is still a novelty in an ever-updating sport.
The club is due to move to a new stadium in a few years’ time, but in the meantime Luton chief executive Gary Sweet told CNN Sport that the upgrade means the club will be required to spend approximately $12.4m (£10m) improving the road. Kenilworth to ensure it meets Premier League standards.
Sweet – also a lifelong fan of the club – said promotion to the Premier League would do much more than bring financial stability to the club.
“This will overtake Luton. It will change the face of Luton, it will change the very concept of Luton almost overnight,” Sweet said of the town 29 miles north of London.
But it’s not always about the money. We have proven that with the club. It’s not necessarily about the money, it’s about what you do with it. It’s actually what you do with perception because we’re more interested in Luton perception.
“Luton is the most charitable city in the UK. It has a huge heart that beats, it has a real soul for this place. It’s a great example of how diversity can live together here. It’s got a lot of positivity but what people talk about is negativity all the time because they don’t They look at nothing other than skin deeply.”
One player who has personally experienced Luton’s rise through the league system is midfielder Billy Ruddock Mpanzu.
Signed by the club when they were in the fifth tier, Mpanzu played a key role in Luton’s rise through the divisions and could become the first player ever to play for the same club at each of the top five tiers in England.
Mpanzu’s goal in the final will be “the first part of this story,” says Harper.
“If he scores the winning goal, the story is written – it’s a fantasy story, it’s a movie script.”
Coventry also had a long journey to reach the play-off final.
The team was a regular in the top flight of English football between the late 1960s and early 2000s, and with notable players in its side – from Steve Ogrizović and Brian Burrows to Dion Dublin and Trevor Beck – the club slowly fell down the league system.
Like Luton, financial difficulties were a major cause of Coventry’s decline.
The club was rescued from administration in 2007 by a recent takeover by a consortium called SISU Capital.
However, things didn’t improve much for the club under the new owners, with spending limited, fans struggling and even the team not being able to play matches at their home ground, the Ricoh Arena, for over a year.
The team ended up sharing a ground with Northampton Town – a team 34 miles away – over a dispute over unpaid rent.
The club was actually dissolved in 2015 but was allowed to continue operating. Results suffered further, however, as the team was relegated to League Two – the Fourth Division – where they met Luton.
Then Mark Robbins returned.
The former Manchester United striker was re-appointed Coventry manager in 2017, three years into his first spell at the Midlands club.
Robins oversaw a remarkable rise through the league system, winning promotion from League Two in his first season and gaining promotion to England’s second tier just a year later.
What made his tenure as manager even more successful was the ability to produce positive results in the face of adversity.
The club again faced more issues with the stadium in 2019 when it was forced to play its home games at St Andrew’s Birmingham City after the owners of SISU and Wasps – the rugby club that owns the stadium – could not reach an agreement.
As a result, Coventry had to play games away from their home fans for two years before in 2021 they could return.
With the Robins at the helm, Coventry improved season after season, with Saturday’s last-place finish being the potential crowning moment in their six-year stint now – the side have only lost once since February 3 to climb to fifth in the table before winning. Middlesboro in the semi-finals.
Coventry achieved this feat with a group of relatively unknown players with previously modest experience.
Sweden striker Victor Geocres scored 21 league goals to put himself at the top of the shopping list for Premier League teams should Coventry fail to get promoted. Gustavo Hammer and Jimmy Allen have provided a boost from midfield, Jake Bidwill, Callum Doyle and Ben Wilson. Always present in defense and goal.
Captain Liam Kelly was with the club throughout their promotion from League Two. He played the entirety of the 3-1 victory over Exeter City in the League Two Final which started this revival.
On the eve of playing again at Wembley with promotion at stake, Kelly recalled that appearance five years earlier and the pressure that came with it.
“I remember everything went so fast. The day goes by so quickly and the start arrives before you know it,” Kelly told his club’s official website. “We know what we need to do on the day and we need to make sure we are on the right end for the critical moments, as they will decide the game. Those moments will win us or lose us the final.
“There is more interest surrounding this, but on a personal level, it’s the same for me. One difference is that we were expected to get promoted from League Two, even League One. This time, very few people expected us to get to this situation.
“We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It will be a great day for the players and the fans.”
Robins described the prospect of facing another club who had an unlikely journey as a “romantic story”.
“They were in the National League with a points deduction to deal with. It took them five years to get back into the Premier League and what happened since then.”
“They were always a year ahead of us, but now we meet here on the biggest stages. We’re both on the same pitch at the same time. It’s an extraordinary story, that’s for sure.
“We built on things season after season, despite the well-documented issues we had. The club kept me in place when they could have dislodged me through difficult periods, but we came out the other side by keeping our focus, both club staff and fans.”
With a place in one of the best leagues in the world at stake, these two historic clubs with over 135 years of history will no doubt carry it through to the end in the most lucrative game of football in the world.
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