Although the expectations were to see certain national teams into the deep end of the 2023 African Cup of Nations, that hasn’t quite gone according to plan because reigning Afcon champions Senegal crashed out late Monday night.

Such an unexpected exit may play to the advantage of the Super Eagles. With Senegal or Egypt out, it means they have fewer threatening teams to contend with for the title.

The next focus of Nigeria’s national team is away from has-beens departing Afcon; the shift in focus is to Friday 2 February, playing Angola in the quarter-final phase of the tournament.

It is an exciting clash that both teams will be looking forward no doubt to but now the attention is on the Super Eagles. Beyond the quest for team glory are the cash rewards that come with advancing from the quarter-final stage to the final holding on Sunday 11 February.

The Confederation of African Football President Dr Patrice Motsepe already built assurance around the association gifting out handsome rewards to the exceptional teams.

Dr Motsepe in early January said that CAF has made significant progress over the past two years in increasing the Prize Money of the AFCON and all its other major competitions.

What that means according to the president is an increase in the Prize Money of the AFCON Winner to USD 7 000 000 which is a 40% increase from the previous AFCON Prize Money.

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If the winner will earn $7 million, then what will the lowly ranked teams get? Since it is the Super Eagles getting the attention heading into the quarter-final, fans can picture a sum of $ 1.3 million being paid into their bank account entering into their next match to face Angola.

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When they progress from here, it is off to the semi-final hurdle. Reaching here fortunately drives up the earnings to a sizzling $2.5 million prize. The main goal is to take all the prizes but if the Super Eagles find themselves in a runner-up spot, they get $4 million as their consolation.

Now with all the explanations, it is easy to quantify what any loss or missed opportunities would mean to the Super Eagles should such happen. It would simply imply that they have lost huge money and may risk displeasure from fans.

To avoid that kind of fate, when the Nigerian team heads to the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in two days time, surely they would be motivated because there is so much to play for.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.