Sevilla FC Got the Best Prize for Winning the Europa League

If you don’t want your allotment of beer, Vicente Iborra, please send it my way. (Screen shot from http://youtu.be/xgZ26Ihz63Y)

Let’s face it: You’re probably not very interested in the UEFA Europa League. And, really, who could blame you? Some managers don’t even want their teams to play in it.

The Europa League is the UEFA Champions League’s weird little brother. Like the Champions League, it’s a club competition that pits teams from around Europe against each other. Here’s the thing though … those teams aren’t really that good. To get into the Europa League, teams usually finish right outside of the Champions League qualifying spots or finish third in a group stage of the Champions League.

In the past, there hasn’t been much incentive to win the Europa League. Actually, it’s usually better for clubs to get knocked out as quickly as possible so they can focus entirely on landing one of the coveted Champions League spots in their domestic leagues. That is [dramatic pause] until now!

Because when you win the Europa League these days, you get beer. SO. MUCH. BEER. For winning the Europa League last season, each Sevilla FC player and member of the technical staff was weighed and then given their weight in beer from Cruzcampo, the biggest beer producer in Spain.

So, even though you still probably won’t watch, it’s safe to assume the Europa League will be a whole lot more intense this year if that tradition continues. A massive amount of beer is on the line, people. When that’s the case (see what I did there?), there’s no telling what will happen.

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Charlie Crespo (@Little_Utopia) is the editor-in-chief of Little Utopia.