Sometimes in sports, there are reasons to celebrate before the actual games. The Czech soccer clubs competing in this season's UEFA Cup serve as cases in point.

Three Czech teams advanced through preliminary play to earn spots in the first round, which kicks off Oct. 19. But they also got more when the first round draw was announced in Nyon, Switzerland, Oct. 3.

As a result, the teams can look forward to an influx of cash from ticket sales, marketing and lucrative broadcasting rights.

"From the business and marketing point of view, we've hit the jackpot," Sparta spokesman Lukáš Přibyl says. "We will not need to travel too far, and we'll be able to make some money, too."

Top guns to come

Sparta will be in a round-robin group with Dutch powerhouse Ajax Amsterdam, Spain's Espanyol Barcelona, Belgium's Waregem and Austria Vienna. The two most attractive teams, Ajax and Espanyol, will play in Prague.

Liberec will also host a European powerhouse — Spain's FC Sevilla, which in September was ranked the world's current No. 1 team by the International Federation of Football Historians and Statisticians. Last year, Sevilla won the UEFA Cup.

Liberec spokesman Lukáš Váňa says the attractive Spanish side was a marketing victory for the north Bohemian club.

"We'll certainly be doing all we can in order to capitalize on the fact that we'll be hosting the team currently ranked first in the world," Váňa says.

Meanwhile, Mladá Boleslav will host the most attractive opponents from its group: France's Paris St. Germain and Panathinaikos Athens of Greece. The other teams in the five-member group are the less-prestigious Rapid Bucharest of Romania and Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel.

"Our priority is to bring attractive football to the town," says Mladá Boleslav Club Director Josef Dufek. "Both Paris St. Germain and Panathinaikos are teams that we could hardly bring over if we weren't playing in the European Cups."

While Dufek says Mladá Boleslav could earn 2 million Kč ($89,000) from marketing rights and tickets, Přibyl anticipated that the Prague club could make up to 10 million Kč from its UEFA Cup appearance.

Váňa says Liberec should earn enough money from the FC Sevilla game alone to guarantee that the team turns a profit from UEFA play.

The TV factor

The entry bonus to the UEFA Cup is worth only about 2 million Kč. Since traveling to games costs teams as much as 1.5 million Kč, the Czech clubs are hoping their attractive opponents will lead to additional money through marketing rights.

"Everyone would like to draw the Germans because TV rights to Germany sell best," Sparta's Přibyl says. "Also, the arrival of the British teams is very profitable."

Indeed, Sparta's cross-town rival Slavia Praha failed to qualify for the Cup's first round this year. But Slavia turned a profit because it drew the English Premiership's Tottenham Hotspurs in the qualifying round in mid-September.

Last year, Slavia made it to UEFA's quarterfinals, but only broke even financially.

"It's ironic that we made more money in a loss than during our winning campaign last year," Slavia spokesman Alexander Kliment says. He declined to say how much the club made off of television rights, but admitted it was substantial.

Sparta saw the same boost with the arrival of Scotland's Hearts of Midlothian in the qualification round.

"The Scottish fans bought out all they could," Přibyl says. "Lots of souvenirs were sold."

Looking long-term

Czech clubs see the UEFA Cup as an opportunity to attract sponsors and to sell players abroad.

"The main sponsors are mostly multinational companies that strive for international exposure — something they can receive just through the team's participation in the European Cups," says Dufek, whose Mladá Boleslav team relies on the sponsorship of carmaker Škoda Auto.

Czech clubs also heavily rely on selling players abroad, Přibyl says.

The European Cups, including the Champions' League and the UEFA Cup, are virtually the only effective opportunity for Czech clubs to market players throughout Europe, says player agent Václav Němeček.

"Players' international experience is essential so that they can be sold abroad," he says.

The Czech UEFA qualifying clubs ruled out any major player departures during the winter break, but admitted that a few players could be sold abroad.