By Victor Kanayo
Nigerian artist, Chukwuka Ekweani, popularly known as Ckay, is booked to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2023 African Nations Championship CHAN.
The closing event is slated for the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers on Saturday February 4, 2023.
According to CAF, the ‘Love Nwantiti and Emiliana’ crooner will be joined by Algerian rapper Algérino and singer Zaho for the final performances.
Ckay is billed to thrill the continent, almost two months after Nigerian David Adeleke popularly known as Davido, performed at the closing ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the CHAN losing 5-4 on penalties to Ghana, after 180 minutes of regulation time plus extra time.
It is the second consecutive edition the Super Eagles B team will be missing out of the competition after failing to feature in the 2020 edition in Cameroon.
Meanwhile, CAF has announced a significant 60% increase on the prize money for the winner of ongoing CHAN competition.
The decision, that has been confirmed by CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe, is in line with CAF’s strategy to increase the commercial value of African competitions.
The winner of this year’s trophy will receive $2million compared to the US$1,250,000 received by the previous champion two years ago.
The total prize money allocated for the tournament has been increased to US$ 7,900,000 from the US$ 5,450,000 that was paid to all the countries that participated in the previous edition of the tournament two years ago.
The runners-up will get US$800,000 while the third and fourth-placed teams will receive $500,000 each.
The four sides that fail to progress beyond the quarter-finalists, will get $400,000 each while the two countries that finish second in the groups of three teams will earn $300,000 each, the same amount as countries that finish third in groups of four teams.
The bottom placed teams in all the groups will earn $200,000 each.
