Former Ghana Football Association chairman Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe has told PRAVDA SPORTS 93.5FM the current FA can only begin to rake in more lucrative sponsorship deals for the Premier League as requested by the Ghana League Clubs Association, if the level of patronage, publicity and competition rises to an enviable height with the presence of star players who can lure fans to the stadia and league centers.
Since December 2008, when Glo signed a five year contract with the Ghana FA worth 15 million dollars to sponsor the Premier League, the nation’s football governing body has not secured any other deal with a prospective corporate body to sponsor the domestic top flight.
Just last week, GHALCA, the welfare body of all football clubs in the country, demanded the FA must collect the arrears of the sponsorship monies totaling 2.3 million dollars owed top flight sides by the league sponsor Globacom and also advised that the FA should start looking for a new headline sponsor for the next league season.
The widely held view is that the FA must cash in on the recent International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) ranking, which rated the Ghana Premier League the third most competitive league in Africa, to attract more sponsorship deals.
Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, who disagrees with the IFFHS ranking, believes the FA must intensify their efforts in establishing newer relationships in the business community but he insists companies would only come on board to sponsor the Premier League in various capacities, as headline or supporting sponsors, once the top flight is highly competitive.