The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has announced a 150 per cent increase in the prize money for winners in this year’s TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), which began at the weekend in Morocco.
The CAF President, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, who disclosed this in a statement, said the increment was as a result of a new policy by the Africa’s football governing body to make women football in Africa competitive.
According to him, the president of CAF and the executive committee ranked women football amongst top priorities of the confederation.
The competition, which kicked off yesterday, saw hosts, Morocco played against Burkina Faso in the opening match at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, in Rabat.
This year’s winner will go home with prize money of $500 000, which is a 150 per cent increase of $300 000. Previous winners of the competition got $200 000.
The prize money for runners-up has almost doubled from $175, 000 to $300, 000 while the semi-finalists will get $225, 000 each, an increase from $125, 000.
The overall prize money for the competition was increased from $975 000 to $2,400 000, an increase of almost $1.5 million.
Meanwhile, this year’s edition will be a groundbreaking one, as the tournament will, for the first time, see the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at all 28 match venues.
Commenting on the use of VAR at this year’s competition, the Director of Referees, Eddy Mailet, said: “This is a bold step in the right direction. As women’s football is growing in Africa, it is important that we adopt the latest trends and technology to enhance the game.
“We have some of the best match officials in Africa in Morocco and training and development of them is key for us. Four female match officials, Salima Mukasanga of Rwanda, Carine Atemzabong of Cameroon and Fatiha Jermoumi, and Bouchra Karboubi from Morocco, were part of the list of match officials at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon and did an amazing job.
“By using VAR for all matches at WAFCON, we are looking to continue the progression and development of the standard of CAF women’s football.”