Before the match between the national soccer teams of Mozambique (Mambas) and Benin (Esquilos) last Saturday at the Zimpeto Stadium in Maputo, the players were already calculating the prize money that would be awarded in the event of victory.

There it is! The Mambas beat the Chipmunks 3-2 to seal their passage to the next edition of the African Nations Championship (CAN) in Ivory Coast.

Until just before the clash, it was estimated that the Mambas would each receive a total of 320,000 meticais for the feat. Accounts made by News reveal that there are criteria for awarding the prize and that the amount will differ between players.

The prize for qualifying for CAN is 250,000 meticais. To this is added 70,000 meticais from the victory in the last game in Zimpeto against Benin. The sum of these amounts is 320,000 meticais.

However, the President of the Mozambican Football Federation (FMF), Feizal Sidat, quoted by the newspaper, explained that the distribution of the money will be proportional to the number of games played by each player for the national team.

Thus, the player who has played six games plus 70,000 meticais from the last match, for example Amadou and Shaquille, will receive 250,000 meticais, making 320,000 meticais. A player who has played five games plus the last game will receive the respective sum of 208,400 meticais and 70,000 meticais, or 278,400 meticais. Those who have played four games get 166,700 meticais plus 70,000 from the last game, for a total of 236,700 meticais. For three games the bonus is 125,000 meticais plus 70,000 from the last game, giving 195,000 meticais. For two games the amount is 83,300 thousand meticais plus 70 thousand from the last game, leaving 153,300 meticais. Those who have played one match receive 41,666 meticais plus 70,000 from their last match, giving them 111,666 meticais. And those who were only called up for the last game will receive the victory prize, 70,000 meticais.

Meanwhile, there's another calculation on the table. Each win corresponds to a 70,000 meticais prize. The Mambas got three, so 210,000 meticais, plus 35,000 meticais for a draw, making 245,000 meticais. As a result, the players present at all the games will have a cumulative prize resulting from these 245,000 meticais plus the 250,000 meticais qualifying prize, or 495,000 meticais, according to the News.

For now, the promise is that these payments will start soon.