It's common knowledge that playing in African club competitions can be a thankless affair, and Medeama's latest revelation of how much they have spent so far perfectly sums this up.

The president of the Tarkwa-based team, Moses 'Mospacka' Armah, has revealed his outfit spent just over $300,000 before reaching the group stage of the ongoing CAF Confederations Cup.

Mamelodi Sundowns were dumped out on Wednesday on the away goals rule by the Mauves and Yellows after a 2-0 win in their second leg tie. Medeama's feat  in Essipong means this is the first time a Ghanaian team have done so since Berekum Chelsea in 2012. 

“We played three matches, and the three games we played before we qualified for the group phase, we spent $300,000,” Parker told Asempa FM on Thursday.

Mamelodi Sundowns are the third team to be cut to size by Medeama on their road to the group stage. The other two were Sudanese side Al Shendy, and Libya's Al Ittihad Tripoli.

“We paid for our own travelling tickets, we took care of our hotel bills so you should expect more money will be spent but the most important thing is we have qualified for the money zone,” Armah added.

FINANCIAL REWARDS OR FINANCIAL DEBT?

There have long been arguments about how fiscally imprudent it is for teams to take part in African football competitions, be they the AFCON or club events.

With the draw for the CAF Confed Cup group stage to be done on May 24, Medeama are set to spend even more money. And for what?

The table below shows how much they can make in terms of prize money from this point onwards. It is important to note that the Conderation of African Football gives no money at all to teams that fall by the wayside before the group stage, - which is why the part from this point onwards has the so-called 'money zone' tag. 

As the table shows, Medeama stand to make a minimum of $150,000 (with $15,000 going to the GFA) should they not qualify from the group stage, while they aim to make a maximum of $625,000 (minues $35,000 for the FA) if they win the title.

Conversely, in Europe's second tier competition, the Europa League, things are very different. Where Africa gives nothing for the qualifying rounds, they offer a minimum of €200,000 ($224,000). 

Indeed, if Medeama had been knocked by Sundowns in the Europa League, they would have still been given €230,000 ($258,000) for their efforts.

And for where Medeama have reached now, they would have made a minimum of €2.4 million ($2.7 million) if even they were eliminated from the Europa League group stage.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT NEEDED?

The past 15 years have sometimes seen Ghanaian clubs pull out competing in African club competitions simply due to lack of financial power. And Medeama's cash injection into the current campaign will resurrect the debate about government involvement.

A vocal supporter of this has always been former Ghana FA boss Lepowura MND Jawula. He has asked the state to consider emulating what many Francophone countries do.

“When clubs qualify to Africa as it is done in other countries, government should pay some amount of monies to them so that it can at least cover their flights and accommodation so that the clubs are free enough to pay bonuses that can motivate the players to give out their best,” he said earlier this year on the Joy Sports Link.

AshGold, as last year's Ghana Premiership winners and Medeama, as FA Cup champions were said to have needed a minimum of $800,000 for successful campaigns in the CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup respectively. AshGold crashed out as soon as they started, leaving the side from the Western Region to keep Ghana relevant this year.

By the way, as shown in the table, Sevilla would earn €6.5 million for winning the Europa league on Wednesday night. Liverpool get €3.5 million for coming second.

The difference is clear.

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