Legon Cities, GFA must leverage on Gyan’s return to GPL – Kojo Addae-Mensah

Kojo Addae-Mensah, the Chief Executive Officer of Data Bank has assessed the possible impact of Asamoah Gyan’s return to the Ghana Premier League on sponsorship and patronage of the league.

In a chat with GhanaWeb, the highly-revered sports analyst noted that Legon Cities and the Ghana Football Association could gain massively from the move if they play their cards well.

His first observation is that Gyan will improve patronage of the league, particularly Legon Cities matches as people will want to catch glimpses of the legendary forward.

In his expert view as an investment banker with decades of experience in the corporate world, Kojo Addae-Mensah thinks it likely that the attention that the league will pull as a result of Gyan’s arrival will enhance the FA and Legon Cities chances of getting sponsors.

With stadiums and game venues restricted to just 25% of capacity, Kojo Addae Mensah believes that viewership of the league could rise astronomically in terms of broadcasting as well as sponsorship deals.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Gyan will enhance the patronage and popularity of the league. I hope it will cause an improvement in the TV sponsorship deal so that more people will be attracted to the games he will play so that it will attract sponsorship”.

“Sponsors want top of the mind awareness and eyeballs to be seeing brands and I have no doubt in my mind Asamoah Gyan will pull crowds to whichever game he will play. It is something Legon Cities, the FA, and the league must leverage on to get the mileage that they can get out of it”.

On the field, he advanced that Gyan will serve as a mentor for young players. He also does not expect him to feel pressured by the expectations and excitement.

“I think it will be very refreshing to have Gyan in the league. We’ve longed for a poster boy for a long time and now we have Gyan. If this was the pre-covid period, there is no doubt in my mind that wherever he would have played, he would have pulled huge crowds. I’m very excited about it and I’m very happy he has returned. I’m glad he did not go to any big traditional club but went to Legon Cities. He won’t be pressured to overperform but just enjoy his game”.