Despite Togo’s significant victory over DR Congo in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, another challenge emerged for the Sparrowhawks—the issue of bonuses. As is customary after each match, negotiations between players, the football federation, and the Ministry of Finance regarding bonus payments proved to be difficult.
Following the match on Sunday, victory bonuses of 2 million FCFA per player were supposed to be distributed. However, to the players’ surprise, the Ministry of Finance only disbursed money for 18 players, rather than the 23 names listed on the match sheet. In response, the players rejected the special envoy of Adji Ayassor, the Togolese Minister of Finance, asking him to find the shortfall for the remaining 5 players.
As of the time of writing, the players had not received their bonuses, and some had already returned to their clubs. The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and the Togolese Football Federation, expressed a commitment to finding a solution to this problem as soon as possible.
