The two major benefits of Kilmarnock's win in Europe laid bare

Not only was last night's 1-0 victory in Norway a good result for the club, but it was also hugely beneficial for Scottish football.

Joe Wright redeemed himself to become Kilmarnock’s European hero in Tromsø last night, as the defender’s first-half header saw the Ayrshire side secure a Europa Conference League play-off place.

That puts Derek McInnes within two games of reaching a historic place in the newly-formed league phase of UEFA’s third club competition.

FC Copenhagen are the opponent for Killie, with the first leg in Denmark next week, before the return at Rugby Park on Thursday, August 29.

Regardless of how tough an ask it’ll be to prevail from a tie against a team who toppled Manchester United on home soil last November, while also earning a 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich before eventual Champions League elimination to the hands of Man City, the reward for beating Tromso is a glamour tie against a team with proper European pedigree.

It'll be an occasion to be savoured for all connected to Killie. Another sizeable crowd will look out their passports to make the short trip back to Scandinavia, while surely Rugby Park will be packed out by the Killie faithful in their thousands, with the tie hopefully still alive.

The memories of Tromsø will never die for the few hundred fans who made the voyage to the Arctic Circle in what was a momentous night in the club’s fine 155-year history.

But just what kind of impact did Killie’s win have on the club and Scottish football in general? And what are the subsequent benefits?

Well, after speaking to the incredibly helpful Gavin Noon, who owns Scotland’s Coefficient on social media site X, we’re able to detail a bit more.

Finances

Let’s focus on the numbers column first. As Derek McInnes said post-match, progression to the final stage of Europa Conference League qualifying is a ‘huge shot in the arm’ for the club.

As a minimum, from their three qualifiers against Cercle Brugge, Tromsø and eventually Copenhagen, Killie are now guaranteed to earn at least €1.275m (£1.09m). This is purely prize money from UEFA for the club’s participation. The club receives €175k per round played in the Conference League and Europa League qualifiers, on top of the basic figure bagged for reaching the qualifiers in the first place. This is before we even consider gate receipts, TV money and boosted merchandise sales among other things.

An overview of exactly what sort of money has been made from the club’s European venture - when outlays for chartered planes are factored in - is for another day, which we’ll aim to provide you with in the coming weeks.

Undoubtedly though, the financial benefits of progressing through the rounds are a stick-on thumbs-up.

This payment will be received from UEFA upon the club’s elimination from Europa Conference League qualifying. Alternatively, or hopefully, should I say, the initial prize money payment by European football’s governing body will be paid out in September upon qualification for the league phase of the Conference League.