Football is a multi-million dollar industry, and the African Cup of Nations is no different, but following a 64% increase in prize money, how much is winning the AFCON actually worth?
The Black Stars have been pooled in Group F alongside Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau for Africa’s biggest tournament with improved financial benefits on offer to those taking part.
Just by reaching the finals in Egypt, the Ghana Football Association are guaranteed $475,000 in prize money even if they don’t win a game or score a goal, while going all the way is worth a whopping $4,000,000 to whichever association sees their team become victorious in Cairo.
CAF increased the total prize money for the tournament from $10m to $16.4m ahead of the 2017 edition of the AFCON, and their communication in 2016 suggested that things may also change after 2019 given the fact that the new prize money was stated as being for ‘2017 – 2020’.
For the winners, the amount up for grabs increased by a massive 166% from $1.5m to $4m, but the increase for all participants will no doubt alleviate some of the financial pressure on some of Africa’s smaller nations that are taking part.