Banks must consider building football pitches to generate revenue - Robert Coleman

CEO of Wembley Pitches, Robert Coleman has urged banks in Ghana to venture into building football pitches as a means of generating revenue.

According to him, the government is the highest spender when it comes to building sports facilities in the country and as such, it is overburdened with other issues, hence the need for corporate entities to take up the venture.

Robert Coleman in an interview monitored by Ghanaweb disclosed that companies in advanced countries have taken up such ideas to establish themselves in sports because their names are inked in parts of the sporting facilities. Bayern Munich’s stadium, the Allianz Arena is one of such sporting facilities which has been named after a company.

“I believe that if corporate bodies come together they will be able to pull resources to deliver such pitches,” Robert Coleman told Joy news.

He added, “If you go to the advance countries that is what is done, then they try to name the various stands after the companies that contributed funds to do it.”

The Trust Sports Emporium and the number of Tennis courts are a few corporate bodies who have had sports facilities being named after them.

For Coleman, it was high time the country witnessed a bank which is dedicated to constructing sports facilities to contribute to the development of sports in the country.

“Just like we have the Agricultural Development Bank and National Investment Bank that is into infrastructure and all that, it is high time that we get a bank that has the focus in trying to develop a football or sporting activities,” the Wembley Pitches CEO said.

He also disclosed that facilities like Astro turfs could be beneficial and generate more revenue because it could be used for other ceremonial and commercial events aside sports. “I believe that if you do this edifice in other communities people will be able to rent it out for parties, weddings; they will come to contribute money and play football. Especially if you have a gym, basketball and all that this project will defiantly pay off for its self,” he said.

He added, “I believe it is high time that we have a bank that has that focus we will be able to replicate some of these pitches in almost every constituency.”