Bafana Bafana have arrived in South Africa following their third place finish at the 2023 Afcon showpiece.
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A 6-5 penalty shootout victory over DR Congo was enough to secure a silver medal for Bafana Bafana.
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That brought an end to a rather successful campaign for a Bafana side that left South Africa little fanfare. Hugo Broos’ men started off in rather shaky and disappointing fashion, losing 2-0 to eventual group winners Mali. They would quickly dust themselves off by beating neighbours Namibia 4-0. They would conclude their group campaign with a 0-0 draw against Tunisia, securing second place.
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That didn’t seem to do Bafana Bafana any favours, however, as they were pitted against Morocco. They equipped themselves well against the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinalist, winning 2-0. Having knocked out the top team in Africa and tournament, the confidence was high. What would be next was a brilliant Ronwen Williams penalty shootout performance to beat Cape Verde.
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Unfortunately for Bafana it would be a penalty shootout that would knock them out next, losing to Nigeria. But at that point, they had already earned hero status back home. That was not all that they earned. For making the last four, they received a total of R47 million. And now according to Sunday World, each player in the 23-man squad is set to walk away as a millionaire.
Bafana players set to pocket R1 million each
“That is true. All 23 players that were registered with CAF for the Afcon will share half of the prize money with the federation. We sat at the table and settled on that agreement. It is a win-win situation for all parties – the players and the national association. The players did extremely well, and they deserve to be rewarded. This will guide and make the next crop of players perform better, with the knowledge that if they can go further than this current team, they will be handsomely rewarded.”said the high ranking SAFA official to the publication.
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Bafana will now be looking to ride this momentum to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June.
source https://www.soccer2day.co.za/2024/02/14/bafana-bafana-players-return-as-millionaires/
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