Gabonamong tops sports' pay list

MQONDISI DUBE
Staff Writer | Thursday May 5, 2011 00:00

 

Gabonamong topped the pay league in Botswana after ESPN magazine compiled a list of the highest earning sports stars in 182 countries worldwide. The list is drawn from 17 sport disciplines, with soccer contributing the highest number of top earners - 114.

In its May 2 edition, ESPN magazine listed Gabonamong as having earned $354,000 following a dream move from Santos to the reigning defending champions at the beginning of the season.

ESPN based its figures on salaries earned in the most recently completed season or calendar year from each sport and excludes any other source of compensation.

Gabonamong's earning is high in a country where the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is $5,959. The utility player moved to South Africa in 2006 to join Santos where he enjoyed a largely successful spell before switching to Supersport at the beginning of the current season. Manchester City star midfielder, Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast is the highest paid African sportsperson with an annual income of $18.2 million while Real Madrid player Emmanuel Adebayor of Togo is second with $11.9 million. Cameroon and Inter Milan forward, Samuel E'to earns $8 million.

Africa's top sports earnersBenin: Stephane Sessegnon (Football) $2.8 millionBotswana: Mogogi Gabonamong (Football) $354,000Burkina Faso: Charles Kabore (Football) $1,118,000Burundi: Saidi Ntibazonkiza (Football) $315,000Cameroon: Samuel Eto'o (Football) $8,000,000Cape Verde:Cafu (Football) $287,000Chad: Misdongarde Betoligar (Football) $21,500Ivory Coast: Yaya Toure (Football) $18,200,000Dem. Rep. of the Congo: Herita Ilunga (Football) $2,730,000Egypt (Tie): Mohammed Zidan (Football) $2,580,000 and Mohamed Abu Treika (Football) $2,580,000Equatorial Guinea: Rodolfo Bodipo (Football) $430,000Eritrea: Zersenay Tadese (Track and field) $340,000Ethiopia: Tilahun Regassa (Track and field) $318,250Gabon: Daniel Cousin (Football) $645,000Gambia: Ousman Jallow (Football) $314,000Ghana: Michael Essien (Football) $5,500,000Guinea: Ibrahima Yattara (Football) $717,000Guinea-Bissau: Almami Moreira (Football) $573,000Kenya: McDonald Mariga (Football) $1,300,000Lesotho: Lehlohonolo Seema (Football) $34,300Liberia: Sekou Oliseh (Football) $573,000Libya: Tariq El Taib (Football) $1,130,000Madagascar: Anicet Andrianantenaina (Football) $86,000Malawi: Tamika Mkandawire (Football) $571,000Mali: Frederic Kanoute (Football) $8,600,000Mauritania: Pascal Gourville (Football) $353,000Mauritius: Diallo Guidileye (Football) $313,000Morocco: Marouane Chamakh (Football) $4,247,000Mozambique: Mate Simao Junior (Football) $516,000Namibia: Collin Benjamin (Football) $1,000,000Niger: Alhassane Issoufou (Football) $200,000Nigeria: John Mikel Obi (Football) $5,800,000Republic of the Congo: Christopher Samba (Football) $3,000,000Rwanda: Olivier Karekezi (Football) $52,000Senegal: DeSagana Diop (Basketball) $6,478,600Seychelles: Michael Mancienne (Football) $2,100,000Sierra Leone: Madieu Williams (American football) $2,974,000South Africa: Ernie Els (Golf) $5,347,012Sudan: Luol Deng (Basketball) $11,355,850Swaziland: Tony Tsabedze (Football) $212,000Tanzania: Hasheem Thabeet (Basketball) $4,793,28Togo: Emmanuel Adebayor(Football) $11,900,000Tunisia: Karim Haggui (Football) $820,000Uganda: Mathias Kiwanuka (American football) $1,776,000Zambia: Chris Katongo (Football) $315,300Zimbabwe: Benjani Mwaruwari (Football) $3,405,584