Africa Cup of Nations Notebook - Day 29

Nigerian players celebrate after winning their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations third place play-off match against Tunisia at the Al Salam stadium in Cairo on July 17, 2019. PHOTO | GIUSEPPE CACACE |

IN CAIRO, EGYPT

Parking fees non-existent in Cairo

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What hard up, oppressed and exploited Kenyan motorists would do to operate in Cairo. Here there are no “Kanjo yellow coats” to pester you, no clamps to immobilise your vehicle. Simply, in Cairo parking on the streets is free of charge. Motorists even double and triple park without harassment from the authorities. However, there are private parking bays that charge per hour. Charges do not exceed 5 Egyptian Pounds (about Sh31.25) an hour. With millions of vehicles on the streets of Cairo daily, it is clear the city fathers here, unlike in Nairobi, are not out to exploit poor motorists for the sake of it.

Any car model goes on the roads

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There is no single car model that is dominant in Cairo. Neither are cars from one continent more popular than others. What you see is an even mixture of all the familiar brands of Japan, South Korea, Germany, France and the USA on the streets of Egypt’s capital city. Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Citroën, Renault, Fiat, Skoda from Europe; Mazda, Nissan, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Subaru from Japan; Hyundai, KIA, Daewoo from South Korea; Chevrolet, Opel, Jeep from USA. But there is also a popular model by the name of BYD from China. Interestingly though, station wagons are extremely rare here.

Afcon winner to pocket Sh0.5 billion

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Who will it be between Algeria and Senegal? Whoever wins today’s final will pocket a cool $4.5 million (Sh456 million) thanks to Total, the officials sponsor of the tournament, who have an eight-year partnership with Confederation of Africa Football that was launched in 2016.

Losing finalists will walk away with $2.5 million (Sh253 million), while the teams that exited at the semi-finals stage, Nigeria and Tunisia will each be awarded $2 million (Sh202 million) in prize money. There’s also $800,000 (Sh81 million) for teams that were knocked out in the quarters - South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar and Benin.