All kinds of bonuses are on offer to players from the African national team From money to cars and apartments: sporting ambition and political propaganda are at play

The prize pool of the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), currently taking place one year late, has never been so rich. For the eighth edition of the tournament, CAF has decided to significantly adjust the prize pool, with the idea of granting greater prestige and visibility to the competition that, more than any other, speaks the language of African football, as it is reserved only for players from domestic leagues. The winners will receive $3.5 million, a 75% increase compared to the last edition, and the overall prize pool has surpassed $10 million (+32%).

The financial return for delegations, however, is not limited to CAF’s prizes, and at times can take on unconventional forms, at least for the European public. If nothing else, because of the weight it has in public debate and the media attention on this topic, which in some cases even seems to overshadow the relevance of sporting achievements. Let’s start with those closest to our habits.

Bonus league

Some top-tier federations have disclosed the payments planned by their respective ministries. Morocco, for example, has promised increasing rewards to its players based on results: from 100,000 dirhams each, about $10,000, for reaching the quarterfinals, rising to 200,000 for the semifinal, 400,000 for second place, and half a million for winning the tournament. Likewise, Senegal’s football federation has guaranteed one million francs, about $60,000, to squad members and staff as a prime de participation, with additional amounts—of unknown size to date—depending on the outcome of the campaign.

For several national teams, however, the matter does not even end with these incentives. As wrote  by the Daily Monitor, one of Uganda’s main newspapers, among the delegations present at CHAN 2024, a handful are virtually enrolled in the bonus league. That is, national teams to whom, before the debut, a prize was promised directly by the government, a phenomenon that combines sporting ambition and political propaganda, and which is by no means new in the African context. This month, for obvious reasons, it has been especially observed in the three co-hosts—Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—but looking at past editions of CAF tournaments, we find traces everywhere, from the Maghreb to Sub-Saharan Africa. And not only in the form of classic rewards, namely cash for each round passed or victory, but also through bonuses for goals scored and material goods such as villas, apartments, land, cars, insurance, and honors.

Uganda

Right after Uganda’s first victory at CHAN 2024, 3-0 against Guinea, star Allan Okello told a local broadcaster of his and his teammates’ determination to "not get distracted by the prize and stay focused on the tournament". It may sound like a cliché, but it illustrates—together with the timing of the question, immediately after the match—the attention devoted to the issue. Just minutes after the final whistle, after all, on the X accounts of the State House and President Yoweri Museveni appeared a tweet simply reading "1.2," that is, 1.2 billion Ugandan shillings, about $340,000, put on the table by the government for each Cranes victory in the tournament. An "unprecedented" figure, notes the Daily Monitor, to which are added extras: 70 million shillings from Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and 20 million for participation plus the same amount for each win from businessman Hamis “Ham” Kiggundu.

In Kampala, criticism of these lavish bonuses, as in the past, was not lacking. President Museveni, leader of the country uninterruptedly since 1986 and now in full election campaign mode ahead of the January elections, has been accused by the opposition and some media of misusing public funds, claiming that behind the sports banner lies, so to speak, the pursuit of consensus.

MP Ibrahim Ssemujju, after the 0-3 debut loss to Algeria, mocked on social media: "Thank you, Algeria: this money can now be used to start building a dam in Karamoja, to bring drinking water to the region, and for other more urgent causes". Others who stayed within the sporting field, like journalist Tadeo Ddamba of New Vision, pointed out that the amount paid out per Cranes victory "is higher than the annual budget of a Uganda Premier League club"; and therefore, if the president truly cared about the development of local football, he would have allocated those funds differently. Meanwhile, many Ugandan fans joked on social media after the first defeat, talking about taxes saved.

Kenya and Tanzania

In Kenya the story is similar. President William Ruto announced on the eve of the tournament an incentive scheme tied to results: one million shillings (almost $8,000) for each victory and half a million for draws, directly into the pockets of each squad and staff member, for a total of 42 recipients. With actual payment proofs shared after matches concluded.

After the surprise win of the Harambee Stars against Morocco, however, came a major increase: "We had a deal: if you win, I pay one million each", Ruto said on camera. "For the next match, we’ll make a new one: if you win, each of you gets 2.5 million shillings. And for the quarterfinals, in addition to the million, I will add a two-room house, which becomes a three-room if you reach the semifinals". To date, excluding further boosts, the prize for the final victory stands at around 600 million shillings, alongside another 400 promised by former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko: "I’m not competing with the president; I’m adding this amount because I want to support our boys".

In Kenya as well, the presidential prizes have polarized public opinion, attracting criticism regarding government priorities and the controversial use of the “Affordable Housing” program. In any case, from inside the locker room came the words of Aboud Omar, who after the opening victory recounted "the thrill of being captain of a national team aiming at record bonuses: in 14 years we had never seen rewards like this". His statements were followed by widespread thanks to Austine Odhiambo, scorer of a three-point goal and one million shillings in the debut against DR Congo, another national team promised by its government "nice surprises in case of victory" without further detail.

The third co-host, Tanzania, presents its own model. The so-called Goli la Mama, already tested in CAF matches by Yanga and Simba, the two main local clubs, and now replicated with the national team. That is, a prize of 10 million shillings, about $4,000, for each goal scored by the Taifa Stars, in addition to the classic bonuses tied to advancing in the bracket: 200 million for the semifinal, 500 million for the silver medal, one billion for the gold. The scheme, created by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, with instant bank transfers at the end of each match, "has lifted the spirits of all the players and group members", said coach Hemed “Morocco” Suleiman Ali.

Other precedents

Looking back through the continent’s football history, examples of presidential prizes and intersections between political elections and football tournaments abound. The clearest case is Ivory Coast, African champion (AFCON) at home in 2024: a new villa for everyone and 50 million francs each, $82,000. The Nigeria runners-up players, instead, received national honors, apartments, and land plots from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Two cases similar to that of the previous AFCON champions: Senegal, returning from Cameroon in 2021 with 50 million francs for each player, land properties, and public honors.

And again: land plots and $10,000 each for Sierra Leone players, with six months’ extra salary for reaching AFCON 2021; houses in the capital and almost $60,000 for Zambia’s 2012 heroes upon their return; $1 million for Equatorial Guinea’s feat after the 4-0 win over Ivory Coast eighteen months ago; $85,000 each ordered by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after Egypt qualified for Russia 2018; $150,000 per victory promised by Zimbabwe’s government for 2026 World Cup qualifiers; $10,000 each player as a special bonus announced by Paul Kagame after Rwanda’s CHAN 2020 feat; $100,000 from George Weah to Liberia’s athletes for qualifying to AFCON 2019.

Sometimes, finally, the reward came on four wheels: this happened to Ghana’s U-20 team in 2009, each given a Toyota Corolla, insurance included, after winning the category’s world title in Cairo; or to Congo’s CHAN champions in 2016, when President Joseph Kabila handed each of them a Toyota Prado, in addition to cash, during celebrations in Kinshasa. From real estate to cars, passing through cash and state honors: around CAF tournaments, the bonus becomes a political message, directed both at the locker room and the electorate’s gut.