AFCON: VAR to be use as CAF raises prize Champions money to $5m

All 52 matches of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations will have the Video Assistant Referee.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) had previously used VAR from the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 edition in Egypt.

CAF has now advanced with a full use of the innovation which gained worldwide recognition by 2018.

The list consists of 24 referees, 31 assistant referees and eight VARs, all coming from 36 countries.

The competition gets underway with hosts Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.

Meanwhile, Champions of the 2021 AFCON will return home with a prize money of five million U.S. dollars (about N2.8 billion).

The prize money increase represents an increase of about 11 percent. The decision was taken on Friday in Douala, Cameroon by the Confederation of African Football Executive Committee.

CAF, in a statement, said the increase was in line with its commitment to rewarding merit performance and enhancing the status of the competition, which is now in its 33rd edition.

See the breakdown list below

Winners: 5 million dollars (an increase of 500,000 dollars)

Runners-up: 2.75 million dollars (an increase of 250,000 dollars)

Semi-Finalists: 2.2 million dollars (an increase of 200,000 dollars)

Quarter-Finalists: 1.175 million dollars (an increase of 175,000 dollars)