SOUTH AFRICA – The upcoming World Cup could be a very lucrative experience for one team!
African soccer teams this summer will be playing for pride and the fact that it’s continent is hosting its first ever World Cup tournament, if nothing else. South Africa has some added pressure on its shoulder as the host country and the looming possibility that they could be the first host country to not make it out of the group stage. The country’s soccer association has designed a move to hopefully inspire the team.
The South African national team isn’t exactly a goal scoring machine, having netter only 32 goals in their last 34 matches. In hopes of making a goal even more meaningful, the South African Football Association is looking to give its team $136,000 for each goal it scores at next months tournament.
“We want our team to play with pride and passion, we want to inspire them,” Chief executive Leslie Sedibe said.
Sedibe also shared his feelings that the last thing SAFA wanted was for the country to not qualify for the knockout stages and for its players “to go home with nothing.”
Ironically, his comments come shortly after he was quoted by the SAPA news agency as saying the World Cup had “blown” the country’s soccer budget.
With big expectations come big rewards. You can bet that the South African national team will be playing with at least a little bit more energy. Their bank accounts could be looking a lot nicer after the tournament is done.
