Ghana are set to receive a $700,000 consolation prize for their third-place finish at AFCON 2023 in Ivory Coast.
Despite falling short of advancing to the knockout stage, the team will pocket a share of the tournament’s $34.6 million prize money, as revealed in the breakdown provided by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Had the four-time African champions qualified as one of the third-placed teams for the round of 16, they would have been guaranteed $800,000. The CAF breakdown outlines the distribution of the prize money among the 24 participating teams:
Six teams finishing fourth in their respective groups will receive $500,000 each.
– Eight teams exiting at the round of 16 will be awarded $800,000 each.
– Four losing quarterfinalists will each receive $1,300,000.
– Two losing semi-finalists will be granted $2.5 million.
– The losing finalist will receive $4 million.
– The winner of the competition will claim the top prize of $7 million.
The Black Stars’ campaign got off to a rocky start with a 2-1 loss to Cape Verde, followed by two 2-2 draws against Egypt and Mozambique. This put them third in the group, behind Cape Verde and Egypt, but ahead of Mozambique. Unfortunately, they failed to qualify for the next stage, as they had hoped to progress as one of the four third-best-placed teams.
The team’s campaign had a budget of $8.5 million, according to NDC MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who has criticised the national team for being a drain on the country’s resources during times of economic hardship.