NAIROBI, Kenya — President William Ruto has promised the men’s national football team, the Harambee Stars, a substantial Ksh 600 million bonus if they win the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
The president unveiled the lucrative incentive during a visit to the team’s residential camp in Kasarani on Saturday, August 2, just before the start of the 30-day tournament.
In addition to the grand prize for a championship win, Ruto pledged KSh 1 million per player for every victory and Ksh 500,000 per player for every draw throughout the tournament.
The president also offered further incentives, promising Ksh 60 million if the team reaches the quarterfinals and Ksh 70 million upon advancing to the semifinals.
Kenya is co-hosting the tournament with Tanzania and Uganda and will kick off its campaign with a match against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday, August 3.
The game, scheduled for 3 p.m. at the 60,000-seat Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani, is already sold out, with organizers confirming that no tickets will be available at the gate.
The president’s promised bonuses would be awarded on top of the already substantial Ksh 1.3 billion (USD10.4 million) prize money set aside by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
This represents a 32 percent increase from the Ksh 1.02 billion (USD7.9 million) awarded at the previous tournament in Algeria in 2023.
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According to CAF’s prize money breakdown, the winning team will receive Ksh 452.2 million (USD 3.5 million), while the runners-up will get Ksh 155 million (USD 1.2 million). Third and fourth-place finishers will be awarded Ksh 90.4 million (USD 700,000) and Ksh 77.5 million (USD 600,000), respectively.
The Harambee Stars are placed in a competitive group, which includes 2018 and 2020 champions Morocco, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Zambia.
To advance to the knockout stages, the team must finish in the top two of their group. A third-place finish would still earn the team Ksh 38.7 million (USD 300,000), while a spot in the quarterfinals guarantees Ksh 58.1 million (USD 450,000).
Group A:
Kenya, Morocco, Angola, DR Congo, Zambia
Group B:
Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic
Group C:
Uganda, Niger, Guinea, Algeria, South Africa
Group D:
Senegal, Congo, Sudan, Nigeria
It’s 3rd time lucky for Kenya to stage the regional football tournament after it was stripped of the hosting rights in 2018 due to infrastructural delay and replaced by Morocco, who went on to lift the trophy.
Before then, Kenya was granted the opportunity to play host for the AFCON tournament in 1996, which was later taken to South Africa due to Kenya’s lacklustre infrastructure.
