Ahead of the 34th African Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled to commence in Côte d’Ivoire starting next week, the African football governing body, CAF, has increased the prize money for the tournament by 40 per cent.

CAF announced this development on Thursday as part of efforts to make the biggest football tournament in the continent more attractive regarding financial power, with the winner of the 2023 AFCON guaranteed $7 million, a 40 per cent compared to the previous tournament.

According to CAF, the runner-up in Côte d’Ivoire would receive $4 million, each of the two semi-finalists is guaranteed $2 million, and each of the four quarter-finalists is guaranteed $1 million as the prize money for the tournament.

Speaking to cafonline.com on the increment, CAF president Patrice Mosepe said, “CAF has made significant progress over the past two years in increasing the prize money of the AFCON and all its other major competitions.”

He added, “We have increased the prize money of the AFCON winner to $7,000,000, which is a 40% increase from the previous AFCON prize money.

“I am confident that a portion of the prize money will contribute to developing football and also benefit all the football stakeholders, as well as assist our member associations with their administrations.”