The just-concluded FIFA Club World Cup came with handsome financial rewards for participating teams, including the four African clubs that represented the continent.Follow our WhatsApp channel for more newsThe inter-continental tourney, which was held in the United States of America from Saturday, 14 June to Sunday, 13 July, was the first to be held in a new expanded format that brought together 32 teams drawn from the six international federations: CAF, AFC, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA.Rising Stars captain set to join LaLiga sideThe expanded format was in line with FIFA’s mission of making the competition the new prime club competition with a total prize pot of USD1 billion (approximately Ksh129 billion).Africa was represented by Egyptian giants Al Ahly and Wydad AC of Morocco, who qualified by virtue of their previous wins in the CAF Champions League, with Tunisia’s Esperance De Tunis and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa via the CAF ranking pathway.##NAJAVA_MECA_9019137##With none of the four teams qualifying for the knockout stages, African clubs’ financial rewards were courtesy of the participation fee, which was determined by their coefficients.South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns were the biggest earners as the highest-ranked club in Africa, taking home USD13.6 million (approximately Ksh1.625 billion).Harambee Stars loses CHAN warm-up friendly against combined sideAl Ahly and Esperance had the same coefficients and therefore earned an equal amount of money, USD 11.6 million (approximately Ksh1.496 billion) each.Despite being the lowest earners in Africa and the second lowest of the 32 teams, Wydad AC still hit the Ksh1 billion mark, with the club earning USD 9.6 billion (approximately Ksh1.238 billion).##NAJAVA_MECA_9019131##In the end, African clubs earned a total of USD 46.4 million (approximately Ksh6 billion), a significant boost to the teams, but which represents just 4.64% of the total amount.With the tournament played every four years, there will be increased competition for the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, with African giants having an eye on the lucrative tourney that will take place again in 2029.Murkomen declares Kasarani Stadium ready and safe for CHAN tournamentChampions Chelsea from England were the biggest earners, taking home USD 114.6 million (approximately Ksh14.783 billion), followed by runners-up Paris Saint-Germain, who earned USD 106.9 million (approximately Ksh13.79 billion).New Zealand giants Auckland City FC were the lowest earners from the tournament with total earnings of USD 4.6 million (approximately Ksh593 million).
