African footballers at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament play for prestige but also for financial reward. Players use tournaments as bargaining chips to secure bonuses that often spark controversies.
When international footballers wear the colors of their nations to represent them at continental or global tournaments, they are usually driven by pride and honor -- but players' desire to succeed runs a lot deeper in
Football tournaments, such as the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), provide opportunities for players to reap the rewards of the hard work they put in to reach the top of their game.
Financial rewards in the form of bonuses paid to football players are considered compensation for past struggles and private investments made into players' futures, some analysts have told DW.
However, the payment of bonuses has become a thorny issue in
"Bonuses to footballers on the African continent are a big deal because most of the African countries... do not develop the footballers and do not give them opportunities to [reach their potential]," Philip Otuo, an African sports analyst, told DW.
"The footballers have to go through difficult times to get to the top, so when they get to the top and they are representing the country at a competition, they think that the country must pay them before they partake."
Bonuses are often paid to players for qualifying and competing at tournaments, but not without reports of rows over the player payments in some participating countries.
The Africa Cup of Nations, the continent's most prestigious football event, is no exception.
Qualification bonus disputes
The players sought a qualification bonus of E16,000 (
Gambian football players had threatened to boycott
"If something is promised to you, I think you are entitled to receive it not to bring confusion,"
"So, I'd like to clear everything out, the thing is that we had an agreement with the GFF that this qualifying bonus will be paid."
Presidential intervention
But the President of
"Within that demand is a qualification bonus of E15,000 per player when we qualify to
"They had their consultations, came back and forth. And then all of a sudden, I was called into a meeting and the ultimatum was, they we are not going to train, and we are not going to
It took the intervention of Gambian President
"I told him [
Can the demand for bonuses be justified?
Otuo said such spectacles and drama over bonuses would linger on for years until countries in
"The footballers have to pay their way through agents and go through difficult times before they even get to the top... that is why on the African continent, most of the countries [deal with] footballers demanding money before they play," he said.
Otuo also said sometimes the rows are justified because often football authorities and governments fail to honor promises made to players in previous tournaments.
"There have been precedents where they have been told, 'Don't worry, after the tournament, you would be [cared] for' and it doesn't come after the tournament," Otuo said. "So they always demand the money before they get onto the field to play."
Public disclosure over bonuses
Each member of the Super Eagles will receive
They will also pocket a bonus of
Each player will receive
The West African nation hasn't made public details about how much each player will receive at
More prize funds in
The winners are due to receive
"I am convinced that part of the prize money will contribute to the development of soccer and will also benefit all soccer stakeholders, while helping our member associations with their administrative tasks,"
"We have to get the team to focus. We have to clear everything -- and if they win, they get
Otuo said footballers also have bills to pay, and until countries in
"I think CAF must come and help address all these issues so that monies would be channeled to the right places for the development of the footballers so that they don't boycott competitions in the future," he said.
Sankulleh Janko in
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