Implications,Capital Bank's withdrawal from league

The arrival of First Capital Plus Bank in 2014 as the sponsor of the Ghana premier division was welcome with great buoyancy and provided a surge of optimism for good things to happen to our struggling but beloved league.

Struggling, because prior to the emergence of that marriage between the Ghana Football Association and First Capital Plus Bank (now Capital Bank), the first half the 2013/2014 league season was without a sponsor. Nigeria’s telecommunication giant Globacom had refused to continue its relationship with GFA after the expiration of a five-year contract which was to earn the league 3million dollars a season.(Note. For the benefit of the current restructuring of the First Capital Plus, the writer intends to use Capital Bank instead of the former.)

Not to sidetrack, but a little explanation here should suffice. The Ghana Football Association signed a five-year deal worth three million dollars a season with Glo but encountered problems from a clear lack of commitment on the part of the telecom giant to honor its part of the deal on time. GLO owed the GFA arrears of about $ 6.5million and FA president Kwesi Nyantekyi made several travels to Nigeria to resolve the issue but to no avail. In his frustration, he remarked that “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.” Nyantakyi told the Graphic Sports.

The local league continues to be our beloved league despite the fact that it has been befuddled with a lot of challenges. In the face of European leagues being shown live on our television screens, late start of the league, continues break of the league, court cases and the dwindling fortunes of its most attractive brands Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak, there are still traditional lovers of the game who throng to the stadium to watch their football clubs play. But for how long would the league continue to suffer from such setbacks?

The decision of the Capital Bank to suspend its sponsorship deal from the GFA has serious repercussion on Ghana football. And here are some of the potential harms this may do to Ghana football.

DROP IN VALUE

It must be stated that the confusion between Globacom and the Ghana Football Association provoked a drop in the value of the league. The 2013/2014 league started without a sponsor so the value of the league depreciated. The deal involving the GFA and Glo in 2008 was worth $15million for the period of five years. Capital Bank came to the aid of the league at a cost of $10million (two million a season) for the same period of five years in 2014. The huge difference is very noteworthy in terms of the financial health of the league, which makes the current situation more distressing. The 2015/2016 league season is yet to start when leagues across the continent and Europe have resumed the second half of the season. The lack of planning and continues the legal battle between clubs affects the value of the league and the probability of the league devaluing further is very high.

SCARE POTENTIAL SPONSORS

It's only common sense to agree that before cooperate organizations decide to invest in projects or an enterprise, they examine and interrogate previous investments into such an enterprise.

The rub here is that the Ghana Football Association is battling to salvage its slope image after the slip up at the 2014 world cup in Brazil. The FA seems to be losing it against companies they’ve’ dealt with in recent times. In the aforementioned relationship between the FA and Glo, there was concern raised by the latter that they did not get the necessary mileage they required from the league. Currently, First Capital Plus insist restructuring of the bank is the reason behind the suspension of the sponsorship, however, one could sense an undercurrent of dissatisfaction in the patronage of the league, poor publicity and the delay to the start of the league as the bane against the deal. These issues continue to affect the image of the GFA and can scare away potential sponsors from investing in the local league.

FINANCIAL HEALTH OF CLUBS

The local league is beleaguered with the exodus of players during the transfer window, and this is hugely due to the fact that clubs don’t have the financial muscles to retain top players in the league. Teams substantially depend on receipts made from player sales to run the affairs of clubs. However, Monies accrued from the league sponsorship helps to relieve some of the financial burdens on the club. The absence of a league sponsor would have a huge impact on the outlay of clubs, in that, the majority of clubs contract loans to prepare for pre-season, in anticipation of receiving monies from the league sponsor. This can potentially result in some clubs running into debt even before the commencement of the league.

DAMPEN THE INTEREST OF SOME LOYAL FANS

Last season when the Accra Great Olympics hosted Accra Hearts of Oak at the Accra sports Stadium, the match recorded an impressive attendance which received attention from the Football Association.

The admiration from the GFA showed an acceptance of the fact that our league has struggled to attract fans to our various the match venues. Hearts and Kotoko do not draw the kind of spectatorship they enjoyed 10 years ago. But there are some faithful fans of the local league who still make their way to the stadium to watch their local clubs play. The withdrawal of the sponsorship deal by Capital Bank would further delay the start of the league and these loyal fans may have to turn to DSTV centres close to them to watch European leagues. This may take a very long time to regain the interest of these fans.

It’s very upsetting to comprehend how people who run football clubs in the country struggle to manage the very league that promotes their clubs. The mad rush of so called football people to associate themselves with clubs to be elected into the executive arm of the FA creates the impression that there is nothing there to be solved but something to enjoy. If not how come these same problems that have bedeviled the league persist?