The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations edition is already underway in Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), where top African teams are competing to lift the prestigious continental trophy.
The African football governing body CAF (Confédération Africaine de Football) has set a multi-million prize pot for the competition.
Below is a detailed look at how the money will be distributed to participating teams.
What is the AFCON prize money for winners?
According to CAF, the winner of the 2023 edition of the African Cup Of Nations (AFCON) will receive a cash prize amount of $7 million.
This is a significant increase in the prize money compared to the last few competitions.
In 2021, the AFCON Winners, Senegal, received $5 million for lifting the trophy. The runners-up, Egypt, the runners-up went home with $2.75 million.
Likewise, the AFCON 2019 prize pot was significantly smaller than the AFCON 2021 and 2023 editions. The champions, Algeria, received $4.5 million, while the runners-up, Senegal, received $2.5 million.
How much will the AFCON 2023 runners-up get?
AFCON 2023 winners won’t be the only team that walks away with a cash prize. The first runners-up will also pocket $4 million for their effort.
Apart from the runners-up, teams eliminated in the knockout stages are also included in the AFCON prize money pot. The two losing semi-finalists will receive a cash prize of $2.5 million.
The four teams knocked out at the quarter-finals stage will each pocket $1.3 million. In addition, the eight losing teams from Round 16 will each receive $800,000.
Do all participating teams get paid at AFCON?
Teams that reach the knockout stages of AFCON 2023 are guaranteed a tidy sum of money. However, regardless of their performance, all participating teams will still get a share of the prize money.
The earnings for the group stage at AFCON 2023 are split into two: third-placed teams in a group that don’t advance to the round of 16 and last-placed teams.
The third-placed teams eliminated at the group stage will each get $700,000, while the last-placed teams will receive $500,000.
How does the prize money for AFCON compare with that of other competitions?
Several other continental football competitions are scheduled besides the African Cup of Nations. These include:
- The AFC Asian Cup, whose 2023 edition is currently ongoing in Qatar.
- Copa America – The 2024 edition will be held in the United States starting June 20, 2024.
- The EUFA EURO – the 2024 edition will be played in Germany starting June 14, 2024.
AFCON vs Asian Cup prize money
For the AFC Asian Cup, the competition has a prize pool of $14.8 million, with the winners receiving $5 million.
The runners-up will receive $3 million, the losing semi-finalists $1 million, and all participating teams will get at least $200,000.
AFCON vs Copa America prize money
While the AFCON prize pot is larger than that of the AFC Asian Cup. However, it is on the lower side compared to Copa America.
For example, the current Copa America champions, Argentina, received $10 million, while each participating team walked away with at least $4 million.
AFCON vs EURO prize money
Lastly, the EUFA Euro is the most prestigious of all continental competitions, with the 2024 edition set to have a prize pool of $355.6 million(€331 million).
The competition winners will walk away with a prize money of $8.645 million (€8 million), which is slightly higher than what AFCON 2024 winners will get.
However, EUFA EURO 2024 winners will also receive other bonuses; for example, a participation fee of approximately $9.94 million (€9.25 million) will be awarded to each team.
In addition, teams will receive $1.07 million (€1 million) for each win and $537,000 (€500,000) for each draw.
Besides that, each team will receive $1.61 million (€1.5 million) for qualifying for the round of 16, $2.7 million (€2.5 million) for quarter-final qualification, and $4.3 million (€4 million) for reaching the semi-finals.
Lastly, the runners-up will receive an additional bonus of $5.4 million (€5 million).
Therefore, the EURO 2024 winners can receive a cash prize of up to $30.4 million (€28.25 million), while the runners-up can earn up to $27.1 million (€25.25 million).
So, there you have it: the AFCON prize money distribution for the 2023 edition. Follow the competition to find out which team clinches the trophy and the lucrative cash prize.
