The Confederation of African Football (CAF) says it will accelerate the payment of final tranche of financial rewards to participating clubs in its interclub competitions for the 2019/20 season.
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The continental football governing body, in a statement on Saturday, said this was in light of growing concerns and evolving nature of COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the suspension of football activities across the continent.
The statement quoted CAF President, Ahmad Ahmad, as saying that the distribution, which has since begun, is to reduce the financial burden on the 32 clubs that reached the group stages of the Total CAF Champions League and Total CAF Confederation Cup.
“Clubs will receive their dues based on the established prize monies for each competition till the quarter-final stage, when the two competitions were suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19.
“The minimum guaranteed for clubs participating in the Total CAF Champions League is $550,000 and $275,000 for the Total CAF Confederation Cup.
“The world of football, and for that matter African football, is going through unprecedented difficulties.
“The current situation has had a telling effect on African football stakeholders, and CAF is being responsive to the needs of our Clubs, one of our key stakeholders, by facilitating the payment of their prize monies well ahead of time,’’ Ahmad said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that usually, clubs received their financial entitlements for the inter-club competitions at the end of the season.
The statement, however, noted that CAF is monitoring the situation closely and working with the relevant authorities, including the Wealth Health Organisation (WHO) on the impact of the virus on the continent, and will announce developments at the appropriate time.