The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has increased the prize money for champions of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to $5 million (about N2.8 billion).
The winners’ prize money was increased from $4.5 million, representing an increase of about 11 percent.
The decision was taken on Friday in Douala, Cameroon during the meeting of the Executive Committee of CAF.
The prize money increase is beginning with the 2021 AFCON which gets underway on Sunday in Yaounde.
The competition’s runners-up will get $2.75 million in prize money, up from $2.5 million and an increase of 10 percent.
The prize monies for the semi-finalists and the quarter-finalists were also increased, with the total sum of the increase on all prize monies being $1.85 million.
CAF, in a statement, said the increase was in line with its commitment to rewarding merit performance and enhancing the status of the competition, which is now in its 33rd edition.
The new AFCON prize money structure is as follows:
* Winners: $5 million (an increase of $500,000)
* Runners-up: $2.75 million (an increase of $250,000)
* Semi-Finalists: $2.2 million (an increase of $200,000)
* Quarter-Finalists: $1.175 million (an increase of $175,000).