Is First Capital Plus Bank watching the league?

Regardless of how long it took for the 2013/2014 Premier League to have a sponsor, club owners, administrators and ardent fans of the Ghana Premier League heaved a sigh of relief when on February 4, 2014, the Ghana Football Association (GFA), announced that it had secured a five-year US$10million sponsorship deal from banking firm, First Capital Plus.

  

First Capital Plus Bank committed itself to paying US$2,000,000 every year “in three tranches with 25% paid as the first two tranches and 50% as the last tranche. The first tranche of $500,000 has already been paid to the GFA”. This news came at the time when the first round of the league had ended with many deriding the competition for its lack of sponsorship. I am not one of those who denigrate or despise the Ghana Premier League even if I will continue to criticise the way things are done by its stakeholders especially if I have a reasonable cause to do so. I have constantly argued that the Ghana Premier League is not as bad as some people always want to make it look like. It is our collective responsibility to develop it.

Irrespective of the challenges the GFA, Premier League Board (PLB), clubs and other stakeholders of the Premier League face in their bid to make it attractive, it makes little sense to me why I should spend copious energy discussing and examining every development in foreign leagues sadly to the detriment of that of Ghana. I identify so well with ours despite its associated problems. The point that, the attention paid to foreign leagues especially by our media is necessitated by commercial reasons maybe tangible but the point about massive public interest is not entirely correct. We have not as stakeholders of the Ghana Premier League, made conscious efforts to raise the standards and to also nurture and guide the public’s interest in it. That is why I am through this article appealing to media colleagues to redefine their love for foreign leagues.

FA Boss, Kwasi Nyantakyi and FCPB MD, John Mensah

I am strongly calling on the GFA, the PLB and First Capital Plus Bank to take a serious look at how to publicise and market the competition. The media cannot do the publicity alone and in fact anyhow – like just mentioning the bank’s name in radio commentaries for example. There must be a definite marketing strategy to sell the league.

I started by asking if First Capital Plus Bank is watching the Premier League. It will be a fatal case of irresponsibility if as sponsors of the competition they are not closely following developments but if they are really monitoring affairs, then perhaps it has to be brought to their attention that they have so far not done enough to make fans feel their presence. First, it is important to commend the Bank for their interest in the Ghana Premier League. Scanning through the Bank’s website, everything showed that they are in serious business. Why they will pump US$10 million into the Premier League with the glaringly flashing, dire economic indicators means that First Capital Plus Bank saw something worthy in or around our league.

But beyond that, exactly what are they doing in collaboration with the GFA, the PLB and other stakeholders to make football fans feel that they are actually sponsoring the league. For instance, when Liberty hosted Kotoko at the Carl Reindorf Park on March 16, 2014; I did not see a single pitch panel indicating that First Capital Plus Bank sponsors the Ghana Premier League.

I was surprised when a colleague drew my attention to that. I have not visited all league centres since the reputable bank came on board. My checks however reveal that some venues have their pitch panels but others do not. That information could be false but even on the basis of what I saw myself at the Carl Reindorf Park plus the general thoughts I have picked on the Bank’s association with the league vis-à-vis publicity, I think, they and the PLB have more work to do. 

Journalists have been using accreditation cards bearing the insignia of the previous sponsor. The process of issuing new accreditation cards, possibly bearing the logo and colours of First Capital Plus Bank, I know, is underway. It is therefore reasonable to assume that, because the Bank joined the sponsorship train only seven weeks ago, they need more time to settle down.

That is a fair assumption but at their current pace or work rate; I humbly submit that, First Capital Plus Bank, the PLB, the GFA and other stakeholders haven’t been convincing enough. They must wake up to the reality that they have more to do to properly market the league. If First Capital Plus Bank is indeed watching the league, then the ball is first in their court.