• Cameroon won the tournament and were paid US$4m(Sh400 million) for doing so, which is US$500,000(Sh50 million) less than what awaits the 2019 winners.
• The prize for reaching the quarter-final was the same at US$800,000(Sh80 million).
Image: REUTERS
The overall winner of the Africa Cup of Nations, which ends on Friday will pocket a mouth-watering purse of Sh450 million, according to the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF).
The losing finalist will earn Sh250 million while losing semifinalists will go home with Sh200 million each. The semi-finals between Senegal and Tunisia and Nigeria and Algeria were played last night.
The losing quarterfinals including Madagascar, Benin, South Africa and Ivory Coast will pocket Sh80 million.
The total prize fund for the tournament is US$14.2 million (Sh1.4bn) to be shared between the eight teams.
The prize money available to participants at the last Afcon staged in 2017 was slightly lower than the latest fund with the overall pot coming in at $12.2m(Sh1.2bn)— US$2m(Sh200 million) less than 2019.
Cameroon won the tournament and were paid US$4m(Sh400 million) for doing so, which is US$500,000(Sh50 million) less than what awaits the 2019 winners.
Beaten finalists in 2017, Egypt, got US$2 (Sh200 million) while third-place Burkina Faso and fourth-place Ghana received US$1.5m each( Sh150million).
The prize for reaching the quarter-final was the same at US$800,000(Sh80 million).
Elsewhere, former Democratic Republic of Congo keeper Robert Kidiaba has tipped Senegal to win the Africa Cup of Nations.
Kidiaba, who hung up his boots from the national team after the 2015 Afcon, feels the West African nation is stronger when compared to the other remaining teams
I will go with Senegal; I think they (Senegal) are the strongest team remaining in the competition,” Kidiaba told Goal in an exclusive interview at the Cecafa Cup in Rwanda.
“They have a team that has played together since the World Cup and I strongly believe they will take the title.
“They also have a good attacking force plus a tough midfield that can withstand any pressure. They are strong enough and looking at how they performed at the group stages, I know they stand a chance.”
Meanwhile, Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi has refused to discuss a remarkable incident where defender Ramy Bensebaini used an opponent’s arm to hit himself in the face during their match against Ivory Coast.
Bensebaini can be seen in a video of the incident grabbing Wilfried Zaha’s arm and then slapping himself in the face with the Ivorian’s hand before falling theatrically to the ground, clutching his head.
Both players had already been booked in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final but the referee appeared to miss the incident altogether and no free kick was given to either side.
Algeria, who beat Ivory Coast on penalties, played Nigeria in their semi-final last night and, when asked about the incident in a pre-match news confidence, Belmadi said it was the wrong place to talk about it.
“I’m not really sure this is the place to talk about this,” he said, to applause from Algerian journalists. “If you try to put pressure on us, it is not the right way. There is a referee for that and VAR for that and it’s not your job to talk about this.”