NIGERIA’S representatives in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup have all been boosted with a $50,000 assistance each from the Confederation of African Football.
Nigeria Premier Football League champions Enugu Rangers and runners-up Remo Stars are in the CAF Champions League, while third-placed Enyimba and FA Cup winners El-Kanemi Warriors compete in the CAF Confederation Cup.
CAF announced today that all the clubs that qualified for both competitions will each receive $50,000 from the governing body.
“In line with the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) President Dr Patrice Motsepe’s promise to improve club Competitions and provide more financial assistance to clubs, the clubs participating in the Preliminary Stages of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup will receive $50,000 each,” the body announced in a statement made available to Naija Times today.
The frst preliminary round of both competitions begins with first leg matches scheduled between today and Sunday, followed by return legs next week.
The second preliminary round will take place in September, with group stage places at stake.
This is the first time CAF offers financial assistance to clubs at this stage of the competitions. Previously, clubs needed to reach the group stages to be eligible to share the overall prize money.
In the last two years, the CAF Executive has significantly increased investment in African club football.
Winners of the CAF Champions League now receive $4 million – compared to the $2.5m they received in 2022.
Winners of the CAF Confederation Cup now take home $2m– compared to the $1.2m they received in 2022.
Last year, clubs benefited from the financial injection from the African Football League that offered a total prize money of $8m, CAF noted.
