German footballers get record bonus if they qualify for World Cup

German footballers get record bonus if they qualify for World CupBerlin - Germany's footballers can earn up to 200,000 euros (252,000 dollars) per man if they make it to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the biggest bonus to date in the nation's qualifying matches.

The German football federation DFB said in a statement on Tuesday that nominated players will get 20,000 euros per match for a maximum 200,000 euros if Germany qualify directly for the World Cup as group winner.

The sum is reduced to a maximum 165,000 euros (16,500 per match nomination) if Germany qualify via a two-legged playoff in the autumn of 2009.

The bonuses were negotiated on Monday night in a meeting of players led by captain Michael Ballack with DFB boss Theo Zwanziger and general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach.

The 200,000-euro figure is a large increase on the maximum 150,000 players earned in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2008.

Zwanziger said the raise was possible because the DFB would generate further income from a November 2009 friendly if the team qualifies directly. (dpa)

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