Ghana FA to drag Glo to court over $6.5m sponsorship arrears
After several failed attempts to retrieve the outstanding sponsorship money from Globacom (Glo), title sponsors of the Premier League and official sponsor of the Black Stars, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is contemplating dragging the mobile communications giants to court to compel it to settle its debts.
GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi, told the Graphic Sports that the FA felt frustrated by the lack of commitment to the timelines set for the payment of the sponsorship monies which were in arrears, hence its decision to seek legal advice on the next line of action to recoup the $6.5million in arrears by Glo.
“We have kept to our side of the deal. We have even gone on to hold several meetings, sometimes travelling to Nigeria, just to get this issue resolved.
“There have been several discussions and concessions given just to ensure that Glo could settle the outstanding bills, but after the last September deadline, no word had come from them. It is very frustrating and unfair to the clubs and the other parties involved and we must now act to claim the money,” a frustrated FA boss said.
Mr Nyantakyi disclosed that Glo would not be the only one to be dragged to court, as it also intended to drag Optimum Media Prime (OMP) along to get them settle outstanding money in respect of exclusive media rights for the Premier League which was given to the company to run Metro TV.
Due to the arrears, the GFA decided not to re-open negotiations with Glo to extend the sponsorship deal until all outstanding bills were cleared, while the FA recently handed the media rights to SuperSport. The five-year deal brokered in 2008, was worth $3 million per season for the league and an undisclosed amount for the Black Stars.
Head of Marketing Communications for Glo Mobile Ghana, Dominic Icha, said the company was confronted with some challenges which resulted in the default in paying the remainder of its sponsorship fee to the GFA.
According to Mr Icha, Glo has met its obligation in excess of $12million to the FA, and wondered why they would not want to honour the rest of the deal.
“We are trustworthy and creditable company whose work ethics are based on trust and principles. Indeed, we do not intend to owe the FA. There has been a reason why the payment has not been honoured on time and we have not failed to communicate this to the GFA,” he explained.
“What is happening is not an abnormal situation in the business. We do not take the relationship with the GFA and the Black Stars for granted, and at the right time, we will honour our obligation,”he stressed.
Source: Daily Graphic