Maqonda Ndlovu

Hesron Kapanga

BOUAKE/WINDHOEK - The Brave Warriors will receive N$50 000 each for qualifying to the knockout stages of the 2023 Afcon underway in Ivory Coast.

This came about after a strike by the players on Friday, resulting in them arriving 45 minutes late for their final training session at the Stade de Annexe in Bouake ahead of the crucial match against Angola the following day.

The players demanded N$250 000 each for reaching the round of 16. Information made available to New Era Sport and Nampa by a senior player, who chose to remain anonymous, said the
issue of players’ compensation has been ongoing for some time.

“Before we travelled to Ghana, players were given contracts to sign by the football association,but what we were offered was a joke. We reached out to them, and asked to be given at least the same payment (N$80 000) as we received when we represented the country in Egypt during the 2019 African Cup of Nations. But that request was turned down, and we were offered as little as N$10 000 per match,” he lamented.

He added that they were fighting for the betterment of their living conditions, as things have drastically changed, and players are being paid much less than in the past.

The NFA, through the government, eventually offered them N$50 000 each for qualifying to the knockout stages, and the already agreed-upon N$80 000 in appearance fees.

Head of delegation and NFA vice president Murs Markus confirmed to New Era Sport from Ivory Coast that the players wanted to renegotiate the bonuses because the contracts that they signed before the tournament did not cover the knockout stages. 

“The NFA had offered them improved contracts, which they initially rejected, before settling for what we (the NFA) and the government offered,” he stated.

Markus said as new NFA members when they took over office, they found most things related to the Afcon already in motion, and they joined the ship because it was a national project. Irvin Ndjavera, the deputy director for sport and seconded to represent the executive director of sport, said the government had done its utmost to support the team with this year’s championships.

“We had a meeting with the players on Friday, listened to their requests, and reached an agreement. The government catered to the players’ requests ahead of the competition with the money which was released to the team before the start of the Africa Cup of Nations,” he added, while stating that the compensation received by the players this year is more than any other team has received in the past.  – jrnmarko@gmail.com/Nampa