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Farai Jere

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor—
CAPS UNITED’S CAF Champions League showdown against TP Mazembe, which gets underway in Lubumbashi on Sunday, is set to be the richest one-off football battle featuring a Zimbabwean club with the Green Machine guaranteed a $550 000 jackpot should they defy the odds and beat the five-time African champions. The two-legged battle is the final eliminator for a place in the group stages of the CAF Champions League this year where each of the 16 clubs, who make the grade, are guaranteed — at least — $550 000 in prize money.

From that amount, a five percent share of $27 500 will be given to the national association.

Winners of this year’s Champions League will pocket $2.5 million, which is $1 million more than what South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns earned from winning the tournament last year.

The runners-up will get $1.250 million, with $62 500 of that amount going to the national association, while the losing semi-finalists will get $800 000 each.

CAPS United can earn, at least, $550 000 if they defy the odds by beating the Congolese giants who are desperate to avoid what happened last year when they failed to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League.

TP Mazembe dropped into the CAF Confederation Cup and went on to win the tournament before losing to Sundowns in the CAF Super Cup recently in Pretoria. While CAPS United’s biggest rivals, Dynamos, received $750 000 for their adventure in the CAF Champions League in 1998, where they finished as runners-up after losing 2-4 on aggregate to ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ívoire, the Glamour Boys played 12 matches on the continent to get that amount.

The Glamour Boys travelled more than 66 320 kms in a trans-continental adventure that took them to Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana, Nigeria, Tunisia and Cote dÍvoire.

But CAPS United, who only beat Lesotho side Lioli in the preliminary round, now can secure a $550 000 jackpot just by beating TP Mazembe and qualifying for the group stages.

Should the Green Machine emerge triumphant, they would have earned more than five times more than what they got from winning the domestic Premiership title last year when they received $80 000 after $20 000 of their earnings were wiped away by fines.

The $550 000 jackpot is more than what CAPS United need for their salary bill for the entire year.

CAPS United president Farai Jere said his men were not looking at the financial rewards but doing very well in the tournament.

“Our target from the word go was to play in the group stages of the tournament and we believe that we are on course to do that even though some people have been saying that we are going to be devoured by TP Mazembe,” said Jere.

“We believe we have a competent team that will make a huge statement and we don’t fear any side but just respect our opponents.

“When you look at Chicken Inn last year, you can see that they only lost to the eventual champions Mamelodi Sundowns by a single goal, scored in the last minute, and there was little to separate the two sides.

“Now, against that background, we feel that we can also match the so-called big boys on the continent and we are ready to take them on and fly our national flag high.”

But even though CAPS United are in line for some rich pickings, should they beat TP Mazembe, the earnings pale in comparison to what is earned in European football. Only last year, the world witnessed an English Championship match between Middlesbrough and Brighton and Hove Albion, a winner-take-all promotion battle that was worth 200 million pounds.

Analysts still feel African clubs are being short-changed.

“The CAF Champions League is one of the longest running continental club competitions in world football. It first started out as the African Champions Cup in 1964, before it was redesigned to its current format in 1997,” Goal.com’s Samm Audu argued recently.

“Like other football confederations, CAF rely on an exclusive marketing agent to sell their commercial properties. But we are also aware that there have been allegations of compromises on the part of the leadership CAF in respect of this partnership.

“One would have expected that CAF would be transparent about their sponsorship earnings, making public all the details of how much a sponsor has committed to their various competitions and events. But that has not been the case and this has fuelled more speculation that a lot of money meant for football in Africa is being paid under the table into private pockets.

“Better marketing would mean more money for CAF and more money for the clubs and the players.

“Officials are often quick to argue that CAF are lagging far behind the likes of Asia Football Federation (AFC) and the European Football Union (UEFA) because the African economy cannot compare with that of those continents.

“Yet, the difference between these continents as regards cash prizes is like darkness and light, there is simply no basis for comparison.

“UEFA pay each team that qualify for their Champions League three million Euros and another 2.4 million Euros for reaching the group phase. A group stage win is worth €600,000 and a draw is worth €300,000.

“In addition, UEFA pay each quarter-finalist €2.5 million, €3 million for each semi-finalist, €4 million for the runners-up and €7 million for the winners.

“In Asia, the total budget for this year’s Champions League is $20 million. Of that, 70 per cent is dedicated to prize money and incentives, with the eventual winners taking home $1.5 million plus bonuses from earlier rounds. A victory in the group stages will be worth $40,000.

“On face value, a million dollars is a small fortune, but when one computes the cost of travel across Africa for a club, as well as the ever-rising costs of running such a club, this cash prize is already overdrawn before a club has played its final group matches.”