Equitorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, has promised the nation’s national team 1 million Euros, around Ksh 177 million, after their win at Afcon games against hosts Ivory Coast on Monday that ended 4-0.
A public holiday was also declared after the team thrashed Ivorians in Abidjan to finish ahead of Nigeria and the host nation.
His son Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue promised a further 50,000 Euros to the squad for every goal scored against the Ivorians, adding 200,000 Euros to the President’s amount.
The ongoing 2024 Afcon games have attracted thousands of fans cheering for different teams and football stars.
The tournament has seen various teams contest to qualify for the round of 16, including squads from Tanzania, DRC Congo, Zambia, Tunisia, Senegal, Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco.
The games started on January 14 and are scheduled to end on February 12
What is the prize money for the winner of AFCON 2024?
In early January, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) increased AFCON prize money by 40 percent to 7 million US dollars, equivalent to Ksh 1.2 billion.
In a statement, CAF revealed that the Runner-up would get 4 million US dollars.
Each of the two semi-finalists will receive 2.5 million US dollars and each of the four quarter-finalists, 1.3 million US dollars.
The President of CAF Dr Patrice Motsepe said,
“CAF has made significant progress over the past two years in increasing the Prize Money of the AFCON and all its other major competitions. We have increased the Prize Money of the AFCON Winner to USD 7 000 000 which is a 40% increase from the previous AFCON Prize Money.”
He added,
“I am confident that a portion of the Prize Money will contribute to developing football and also benefit all the football stakeholders, as well as assist our Member Associations with their administrations.”
Is African football lucrative?
Sports industries in developed countries are worth billions of money with enhanced systems and attractive pay for players.
Africa lags behind in the football world but produces talented players who play in lucrative leagues in countries like France and England.
In a continent whose people are languishing in poverty and poor leadership, football in some countries like Kenya is not doing well with payers sometimes going without pay.