Ghana players have been paid US$ 35,000 each for advancing to the last eight of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. The Black Stars booked their place as Group B leaders after a comprehensive 3-0 win over Niger on Monday night in Port Elizabeth.

"The bonuses were paid at 10:30 pm last night and you can see that is why the players are happy," Ghana FA spokesperson Ibrahim Daara-Sannie confirmed at Tuesday's press conference.

Ghana FA Executive Committee member Emmanuel Kyeremeh further explained the mechanism for paying bonuses.

"The budget management submitted to the Ministry was approved and we also agreed the qualifying bonus with the players. We actually didn't base it on matches," Kyeremeh said.

"If we had not qualified yesterday, then we were not going to pay any bonus."

Ghana finished with 7 points, three more than second-placed Mali and set-up a showdown with high-flying Cape Verde. The Black Stars beat the Blue Sharks 1-0 in an international friendly in Portugal two months ago.