Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku says the association missed out on a potential investment of more than $5m annually in the Ghana Premier League after the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) blocked a proposed sponsorship deal with Guinness Ghana Limited.

Okraku revealed that the beverage company had approached the GFA with plans to make a substantial financial commitment to the country’s top-flight league, but the agreement fell through because of regulatory restrictions on alcohol companies sponsoring sporting activities.

Speaking before Parliament’s Select Committee on Youth and Sports on Wednesday, 4 November, Okraku said the GFA had held several meetings with Guinness Ghana in an attempt to secure the deal before the FDA declined to approve it.

“We were approached by Guinness Ghana Limited wanting to invest heavily in the Ghana Premier League. We did whatever we had to do. We had a series of meetings. At the end, FDA said no. The deal was, if I’m not mistaken, over $5 million a year. We lost it,” he said.

The GFA president criticised the existing restrictions, arguing that they prevent football from benefiting from significant private-sector investment at a time when the domestic game needs additional financial support.

He consequently urged Parliament to take steps to remove the provision that gives the FDA the authority to approve or reject sponsorship agreements involving alcoholic beverage companies.

“That provision that allows FDA to say yes or no to sponsorship still exists within our books. If there’s one thing that you can do to help sports and football, that would be for you to lead the charge to completely take out that provision,” he added.

Okraku believes removing the restriction would create opportunities for sports organisations to attract more corporate sponsorship and strengthen the financial foundations of Ghanaian football.

The proposed Guinness Ghana investment would have represented a significant financial boost for the Ghana Premier League, which continues to face challenges in attracting major commercial partners and securing sustainable funding for its clubs.

Source: GhanaSoccerNet