The 23 Bafana Bafana players will split half of the R47-million prize money that the SA Football Association (Safa) will receive from the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) competition.
This was the deal reached during negotiations between the federation and the players, who were led by the team’s senior members, before the team left for the continental tournament in Ivory Coast.
The host nation won the competition after defeating Nigeria in a tense final on Sunday night.
The South Africans will receive $2.5-million (R47-million) for making it to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Nigeria. The players and Safa will split the money equally.
Accordingly, each of the 23 players will receive R1-million each, with the federation keeping the remaining funds.
Bronze medal
Bafana surprised football fans by securing third place and capturing their first bronze medal since 2000 in Mali after beating the Democratic Republic of the Congo 6–5 on penalty kicks on Saturday night.
The South Africans were not considered serious contenders coming into the competition.
Bafana will touch down at the OR Tambo International Airport at 4am on Wednesday morning.
“That is true. All 23 players that were registered with CAF for the Afcon will share half of the prize money with the federation,” said a well-placed Safa official.
“We sat at the table and settled on that agreement. It is a win-win situation for all parties – the players and the national association.
“The players did extremely well, and they deserve to be rewarded. This will guide and make the next crop of players perform better, with the knowledge that if they can go further than this current team, they will be handsomely rewarded.”
Dispute over bonuses, match fees
Every time a major tournament occurs, disputes arise regarding bonus negotiations, match fees, and performance allowances.
Following their highly successful Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last year, Banyana Banyana also found themselves in a sticky bonus situation.
Hugo Broos, a Belgian, is the team’s coach. After losing to Mali 2-0 in their opening group stage game, Bafana had a difficult start to the competition.
In their following game, they got back up and destroyed Namibia 4-0. A goalless draw against Tunisia was enough for Bafana to advance to the knockout stages, where Morocco was waiting for them.
They defeated the Atlas Lions 2-0 before playing Cape Verde in the quarterfinals. Thanks to an incredible four penalty saves from captain Ronwen Williams, they advanced to the final four.
Following that, Bafana scheduled a date with the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who ended their hopes of making it to the final.
Afcon Prize Money:
Winners: $7-million (R131-million)
Runners-up: $4-million (R75-million)
Semi-Finalists: $2.5-million (R47-million)
Quarter-Finalists: $1.3-million (R24-million)
