Sports
Overcoming sponsorship fatigue in sports
Speaking to top sports administrators in Ghana over the innumerable challenges facing sports administration, one concern rings across, and that is sponsorship.
Sponsorship, the world over is the backbone of sports development and promotion.
A federation or major sanctioning bodies may have the most skillful hands in terms of personnel but without sponsorship, their plans would remain stuck in their books.
Federations with huge budgets and fat sponsorship deals like football, athletics etc, are touted as the most successful federations.
It is not always the case that those below that level lacked qualified personnel to plan; the truth is that without sponsorship, no discipline can rival the likes of football and athletics for example.
It is a global challenge; Ghana is no exception.
Fact is, a number of the sports federations here have failed to break out due to the lack of sponsorship deals and the truth is that, they may not be able to reach certain heights without it.
Barely six months in office as Sports and Recreation Minister, Mr Kofi Iddi Adams, has identified this huge funding gap and has been encouraging companies to partner government to develop sports.
During a visit to the Borteyman Sports Complex to watch an International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors event, Mr Adams urged the private sector players to be involved in the organisation of sports in the country because government alone cannot shoulder that responsibility.
“Public-Private-Partnerships is one sure way to sustain such essential developmental initiatives and I believe the coming on board of more corporate bodies would help in that light,” Mr Adams said during his interaction with the media during the visit.As an ardent follower of sports, that is surely the way to go in the wake of what appeared a sponsorship fatigue among the private sector partners.
In the past, companies like Mobil Ghana, Nestle Ghana Limited, Ghana Brewery Limited and many others became so synonymous with sports as a result of their connection to the industry.
Through Mobil’s support for athletics, Ghana produced a lot of great athletes that performed at the highest stage of the sport while Nestle with its Milo brand helped unearth long distant runners through the Milo Marathon organised by the Dansoman Keep Fit Club and the Milo championship for tennis.
When they exited, other companies filled their shoes but sadly, those relationships have not been sustained and over the years, they have gone into hibernation.
Sponsorships of this nature are huge financial drains on these corporate sector players and for that matter, such calls does not produce the harmonious notes they want to hear.
Most of these companies that have expressed interest in partnering government in that direction have also complained about economic challenges and the absence of tax rebates.
From this, one gathers that there is the need for a common ground or some compromise for the sports sector to begin to attract these companies.
Sports no doubt has become a big business, providing varied platforms for a lot of the youth to get their daily bread and also, feed their families.
Obviously with the numbers it commands, it should be easier to attract the corporate sector support but since they are not coming, it’s clearly shows that there is a missing link.
This is the reason why the Minister of Sports and Recreation’s call for the involvement of the corporate sector must not be a rhetoric just as it has been with previous ministers that occupied the role.
This should be the time to walk the talk. Efforts must be made to identify some of these organisation with the wherewithal to support, get to know their frustrations with sports and why they shy away.
It would also be appropriate to know their expectation in such partnerships so that a win-win situation would be achieved at the end of the day.
From the side of the sports administrators, they must prove their professional capabilities and run the federations transparently to erase doubts about their operations.
By Andrew Nortey
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
