AFCON
Exclusive: It’s Senegal’s season of harvest of dollars
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
If there is any football federation in Africa whose national team is swimming in ocean of dollars, it is the Senegal Football Federation.
Over the last five years, Senegal national team has raked $30m (Ncc) as prize money from their qualification to two editions of the World Cup and participation in three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Not only has the national team consistently been rated as number one in Africa in over four years, it has been the one with the biggest harvest of money from successes on the field.
Since it has also depended on its citizen as the head coach, it also means the Senegal Teranga Lions do not suffer from capital flight as their coach, Aliou Cissé will be paid in domestic currency.
In the past five years, Senegal has been experiencing financial increase from prize monies. As quarter-finalists at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal earned $800,000 (N332.6m) after they agonisingly crashed out against Cameroon in an encounter decided by penalty shoot-out.
Like Nigeria and the other three African teams that scaled through but crashed out at Russia 2018 World Cup, Senegal earned $1.5million (N623.6m) as qualification fee and another $8m (N3.3b) in the group stage taking their gross earning over the period of 2017/2018 to $10.3m (N4.28b).
As runners-up at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, Senegal’s prize money was $2.5m (N1b) bringing the gross since 2017 to $12.8m. At the time, Nigeria’s prize money as third-placed team was $2m (N831m) Super Eagles earned $9.5m (N 3.9b) from the Russia 2018 participation.
As winners of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations played in 2022, Senegal earned $5m (N2b) thus taking their earning from 2017 to February 2022 to $17.8m (N7.4b).
Being knocked out before the quarter-finals, Nigeria had no income from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Missing out at Qatar 2022 means a loss of $12.5m (N5.1b).
For Senegal, it is a net-breaking, boat-sinking catch as they will get $2.5m (N1b) World Cup qualification fee, with a projected additional $10m (N4.1b) if they don’t move beyond the group stage.
Their earnings increase as they progress in the competition. They are the African team with the best ratio of wins at the World Cup and had been only African team to advance to the quarter finals at their World Cup debut.
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.
This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.
Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.
His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.
Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.
The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.
According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach, Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.
He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience.
According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,
After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.
Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti, Chad, Niger, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, São Tomé and Burundi.
Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.
“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.
He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”
Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.
“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.
The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.
Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.
Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.
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