Mozambique’s leader has dangled a lucrative cash incentive before his national football side to spur them past powerhouse Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations last-16 clash, vowing national backing for the underdogs after their historic group stage breakthrough.
President Daniel Francisco Chapo lauded the Mambas’ qualification for the knockout rounds as a first in the tournament’s history, following their third-place finish in Group F despite a narrow 2-1 loss to Cameroon.
In a Thursday communique to the squad and coaches, Chapo hailed the feat as “unprecedented and meritorious,” declaring it had “filled the nation with pride.”
He saluted the team’s “courage, discipline and determination, which enabled the team to reach a new milestone on the continental stage.”
To galvanize the players ahead of Monday’s showdown at Fez’s sports complex, starting at 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), Chapo pledged an “extraordinary bonus” of 500,000 meticais — equivalent to about 11.3 million naira ($6,800) — per player and staff member upon victory and progression to the quarter-finals.
Chapo assured: “The entire nation stands behind the team,” voicing optimism in their capacity to topple the Super Eagles, one of the event’s standout performers in Morocco’s 2025 edition.
The gesture underscores the high stakes for Mozambique, a minnow aiming to build on their surprise advancement against a Nigerian outfit that swept their group with maximum points.
