Soccer News of Friday, 14 August 2015
Source: Graphic.com.gh
Asante Kotoko players
The deep-seated despair of Premier League clubs evaporated into thin air yesterday after they became GHC55,000 richer from the payment of First Capital Plus Bank’s $1million outstanding sponsorship balance for this season’s league.
The clubs’ accounts suddenly swelled after the Ghana Football Association (GFA) credited each participant with the amount, representing the last tranche of sponsorship for the 2014/2015 season.
The Chief Executive of league leaders Ashantigold, Mr Kudjoe Fianoo, confirmed this to the Graphic Sports yesterday.
Earlier, the Corporate Affairs of First Capital Plus Bank (FCPB), Nana Yaw Kesse, revealed to the Graphic Sports that the final tranche of $1m was paid into the GFA’s accounts on August 3.
He explained that the cedi equivalent to the US dollar was pegged at the hedged contract rate of GHC2.38 to $1.
This was corroborated by the president of the GFA, Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, in a telephone chat yesterday.
Though delayed, the money seems to have come at a time when all the 16 clubs need money badly in the heat of their respective campaigns, with three matches to end the season.
This is the third installment of sponsorship money so far disbursed by the First Capital Plus Bank to the clubs this season.
According to Mr Fianoo, the clubs received the first tranche of GHC34,000 just before the commencement of the league, while the second installment was paid at the start of the second round, making it a total of GHC123,000 per club.
When contacted, the chairman of the Premier League Board (PLB), Mr Welbeck Abra-Appiah, said since the money represented the last payment for the season by the league’s headline sponsor, “a whole lot of expenditure would have to be considered before determining the clubs’ share.”
The Bank’s $2m per season sponsorship for the elite league is in its second year.