|
|
Botswana: Phuthego Confident Over Mascom Sponsorship
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
9 April 2008
Posted to the web 10 April 2008
Mogomotsi Moloi
Gaborone
Mobile phone company, Mascom Wireless has agreed in principle to renew its sponsorship for the Premier League.
The three-year deal between the company and the Botswana Football Association expires next month by the end of the season. Premier League Committee (PLC) secretary Setete Phuthego has said negotiations are at an advanced stage for a renewal. He pointed out that though they are yet to finalise negotiations with Mascom, they have agreed in principle. "Negotiations are still ongoing. But we believe that everything would be finalised soon," said a confident Phuthego. He explained that they have had a healthy relationship with Mascom and they hope for an improved package in the anticipated deal because of inflation.
"Obviously some things have to change (in the contract). We have learnt a lot from Mascom and they have also learnt from us. The reason football is more entertaining today is because of Mascom," said Phuthego. It is through Mascom that the elite football league has significantly improved, he asserted. He hailed Mascom for playing a major role in football. He said since the company started sponsoring the Premier League, football supporters come to games in large numbers, which is good for clubs because of the rich gate-takings. "We really appreciate the efforts made by Mascom. Our games attract more supporters than they used to before Mascom came on board," said Phuthego. He indicated that the success of Premier League can be seen from the remarkable performance of the national Under-23 and the senior team, Zebras. The more the domestic league improves, the more quality players it produces, said Phuthego.
The Premier League secretary is happy that Mascom is always flexible with their sponsorship despite the challenges that nearly derailed the deal. Early this season, Mascom threatened to pull out after their rival competitor, Orange, strategically sponsored Township Rollers. The move was seen as deliberate a plot to intimidate Mascom. Rollers were eventually barred from using Orange-branded sportswear in league games.
Phuthego acknowledges that this is one issue that dented their good relationship with Mascom but he is glad that it was resolved amicably. He expressed optimism that the cellular phone company would offer the BFA "something that goes beyond 2010". He asserted that they are comfortable with the current three- year deal. Efforts to solicit a comment from Mascom were unsuccessful because the communications department was not willing to shed light on the issue. Public relations and communications manager Odirile Motlhale referred Mmegi Sport to his seniors.
Through his secretary, chief of communications and public relations Meshack Mokoni, said he was not ready to comment on the issue. Under the current deal, the cellular phone company sponsored the league with a whopping P4.5 million divided in P1.5 million per season. The company took over from the previous sponsor, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited under its brand, St Louis lager.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
