By the time the UAE national football team made the final of the Gulf Cup, last week, I concede I was wondering what sums of money might be directed their way if they won it.

I recalled that the president of the country gave each player on the Under 23 team Dh500,000 (about $136,000) when they qualified for the London Olympics, back in March.

The reward for winning the Gulf Cup was sure to be bigger … but I didn’t anticipate just how big.

How big?

Dh174 million, is how big.

That works out to $47.4 million.

Yes. Gulp.

That may be the biggest cash gift, from a government to a sports team, in world history. I can’t find any bigger.

This story in The National does the accounting.

The president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, gave Dh50 million, as did the vice president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. The latter’s wife contributed Dh25 million, two more Dubai royals contributed Dh12 million, and the rulers of Umm Al Qaiwain, Sharjah and Fujairah, gave Dh10 million each, and the ruler of Ajman gave Dh7 million.

And that is how you get to Dh174 million — or  $47.4 million.

How much of that money went to the 23 players who played in the 2013 Gulf Cup is not clear. If most of it did, each player is in line for about $2 million. Quite impressive, for winning an eight-team tournament.

However, in an interview tonight with one of our correspondents, the goalkeeper on the national team said most of the donated money will go to the UAE Football Association, not to the players.

“As for the media reports that every player is getting Dh2 million or Dh3 million, that is absolutely not true,” Khaseif said. “Most of the money will go to the UAEFA, not the players. It will go to the FA for developing the grass roots, for the travel for international games and hotels for the players.”

He declined to say how much had been given to the players.

“Out of respect for the players and the rulers who gave the money, I do not want to say how much the players got. It is out of the question for the players to say how much they are receiving.”

He said it is not unusual for governments to reward players after major competitions.

“When a team wins the World Cup or the European Cup, their government gives them prize money,” Khaseif said. “This is like prize money, but it comes from the rulers.”

Spain earned $31 million for winning the 2010 World Cup, though that was paid out by Fifa, not the government of Spain. According to this story in Forbes, Spain got $33 million for winning the 2012 European Championship. So the core guys who played on those two teams did pretty well for themselves — though it is not clear, there, either, how much of the money went to the players.

(Compare this to the $172,000 paid to each of the New York Giants for winning the Super Bowl last February. Seems niggling.)

So maybe the UAE players did not get Dh2 million or Dh3 million, as Ali Khaseif insisted. But will they get Dh1 million ($272,000) each? That seems fair to say.

Anyway, the guys who played on the victorious Gulf Cup team will have some additional income, and for many of them it is in addition to the Dh500,000 they got for qualifying for the Olympics.

Winning tournaments can be a lucrative enterprise, in the UAE.

I don’t know what the money total might be if the country won, say, the Asian Cup (the continental championship), in 2015, but it is safe to assume the cash contributions will be higher still.