Flames guaranteed of K376 million for qualifying for Afcon finals
Malawi National Football Team, the Flames are guaranteed of receiving $475,000 (about K 376 million) for qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals slated for January 9 to February 6 in Cameroon.
Starting in 2019, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) paid every participating team $260,000 (about K206 million) as preliminary money for preparations of the finals.
The K206 million is deducted from the K376 million which every team is entitled to get should it gets knocked out of the competition in group stages.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) General Secretary Alfred Gunda said Caf was yet to communicate on how much teams will get as appearance fees.
“We cannot relax that we will get money from Caf. We all know that we are in difficult situation so we do not want to be caught unawares. For us to succeed, we need a lot of resources,” he said.
However, there will be more prizes for the Flames should they progress beyond the group stages.
Last time, each team in the quarterfinal stage pocketed $800,000 (K634 million) with third and fourth-placed team each getting $2milllion.
The champions pocketed $4.5 million whereas the runners up received $2.5 million.
If Caf provides funds to participating teams, this could be a relief for the Flames who need about K575 million for next year’s participation, which includes camping, air tickets, accommodation and friendly matches.
However, it is unclear if Caf will increase the appearance fees for the participating teams as the continental football governing body is yet to secure broadcasting rights for the competition since the last two years.
On the other hand, the Flames also require over K600 million for Group D World Cup qualifiers starting in June.
Sports analyst Kelvin Moyo said Football Association of Malawi (Fam) should not panic ahead of the tournament.
“I think Fam should concentrate on sourcing money for camping and preparations. Caf always assists teams after qualifying but for us to do well we need more money as well. I am sure government and the private sector will support the team with more resources,” Moyo said.
