Welcome to Moneyball - the football version that is. Tomorrow night, as well as the prestige and global attention, US$500,000 ($753,000) will be on the line when Auckland City take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the opening game of the Fifa Club World Cup.
Though it's a drop in the bucket for the Japanese champions - who boast revenues of up to $US70 million per season ($105 million) - it would be a vital windfall for the ASB Premiership club, and for New Zealand Football in general.
As a comparison, the winners of the NRL grand final take $A400,000 ($435,000) while the Super Rugby champions get to keep the gate receipts from the final.
The money is not the main motivation for Ramon Tribulietx and his team but such an amount always attracts attention. Auckland City are already guaranteed US$500,000 from Thursday's match - that's the prize money for seventh place at this tournament - and it increases with every progression, with US$1 million ($1.5 million) heading for the team in sixth place.
The Fifa Club World Cup is not universally popular, with some elements within UEFA regarding it as an inconvenience to their already overburdened clubs. But the tournament has been massive for New Zealand football, pouring around US$7.5 million ($11.30 million, though exchange rates earlier this decade were even more favourable) into the game since our first participation in 2006.
