A whopping USD 1 million prize purse awaits Indian champion club Bengaluru FC if it manages to beat Air Force Club of Iraq and clinch the AFC Cup here on Saturday. The runner-up side will bag USD 0.5 million.
The decision to increase the prize money for the winners of 2016 AFC Cup from USD 350,000 to USD 1 million was approved by the AFC Executive Committee at its meeting on November 27 in New Delhi. The runner-up prize money was doubled from USD 250,000 to USD 500,000, while the semifinalists, which received nothing in 2015, will get USD 40,000. The quarterfinalists and round of 16 clubs get USD 25,000 and USD 15,000, respectively.
>Read: Can BFC lift the AFC Cup?
Bengaluru FC became the first Indian club to reach the final of the AFC Cup when it beat defending champion Johor Darul Ta’zim FC 4-1 on aggregate in the semifinal (home and away format) last month. It now seeks to become the first Indian football club to clinch a continental title when it locks horns with Air Force Club of Iraq in the summit clash of AFC Cup here on Saturday.
Before this, the farthest an Indian club had advanced in a continental tournament was the two AFC Cup semifinal appearances by Dempo in 2008 and East Bengal in 2013.
Meanwhile, it’s learnt that All India Football Federation President Praful Patel will be here to cheer for Bengaluru FC.
“#TheDohaDream a day away for @bengalurufc as they set to stride to script history for #IndianFootball. Will be there to cheer the team. #AFCCup,” Patel tweeted on his official Twitter account.
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