Nyasa Big Bullets stand to earn a cool $2.5 million (about K1.8 billion) in prize money if they can defy the odds to win the 2018/19 edition of the Total CAF Champions League.
According to the new prize cycle of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) inter-club tournaments which runs from 2017 to 2020, the winners of the Confederation Cup will cart home $1.25 million (about K923 million)—the same amount that the runners-up of the Champions League will get.
Silver Strikers are taking part in the Confederation Cup.
The solace is that all the 16 teams that will make the group stages of the two tournaments, will receive prizes.
Semi-finalists in the Champions League will get $875 000 (about K646 million) each while the quarter-finalists will receive $650 000 (about K480 million).
In the Confederation Cup, the runners-up will receive $625 000 (about K461 million) while the semi-finalists will get $450 000 (about K332 million) each.
The quarter-finalists will each receive $350 000 (about K258 million).
Bullets chief executive officer Fleetwood Haiya could not be reached for comment, but Silver general secretary Lawrence Yobe said the prizes are a big boost which will motivate the Central Bankers to give it their best shot.
“It shows that at that [high] level, football is big business and it will inspire us to try as much as possible to make a profit from whatever we will invest by making it to the group stages,” he said.
Football marketing consultant Felix Ngamanya Sapao said the local teams stand to make a substantial sum if they qualify for the group stages.
“Of course, part of it goes towards television production costs, but they make a lot of money,” he said.
Bullets, who are the only Malawian team to have reached the group stages in 2004 when they were sponsored by former president Bakili Muluzi, have been drawn against Kenyan side Gor Mahia in the preliminary round of the Champions League while Silver will face Association Omnisport Center Mberi Sportif (AO CMS) of Gabon.
The first legs are slated for November 27/28 while the return legs will be played a week later.
