Uganda Cranes were among the teams eliminated at the group stage at AFCON 2025 but how much did they earn from the tournament?
Uganda Cranes are still smarting from their early elimination from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and while they count the cost of their ill-fated campaign, they are also anticipating a cash windfall.
The Cranes crashed out of AFCON 2025 at the group stage following a 3-1 loss to Nigeria on Tuesday when they needed a win to seal their place in the Round of 16.
Uganda had also lost their opening match 3-1 to Tunisia before a 1-1 draw with Tanzania, a match they wasted a glorious opportunity to win, when starboy Allan Okello missed a late penalty that would have made it 2-1 for Paul Put’s men.
As they returned home with focus shifting to AFCON 2027 on home soil, the country will still get rewarded for their AFCON 2025 participation due to a grand prize money scheme put in place by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
How Much Did Uganda Pocket From AFCON?
As the team that finished last in Group C, Uganda will take home the lowest prize which is $500,000 (UGX1.8 billion), going to the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA).
That is a tidy sum that will boost FUFA’s coffers and part of it could be used to settle the players’ allowances especially after Put’s squad went on a go-slow in camp over delayed payment of their dues just before the tournament started.
Uganda, however, missed out on the $700,000 (UGX2.5 billion) that was going to the third-placed teams in the group as well as the $800,000 (UGX2.9 billion) that will be paid to each of the 16 teams that made it to the knockout round.
Nigeria finished top of Group C with the maximum nine points followed by Tunisia on four while Tanzania sneaked into the Round of 16 despite just managing two points.