Court dismisses USL application
Apr 21, 2015
The Court of Appeal has rejected an application in which the Uganda Super League (USL) Limited had sought for orders quashing an agreement reached between the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) and Azam TV to sponsor and broadcast Uganda’s Premier Football League
By Hillary Nsambu
The Court of Appeal has rejected an application in which the Uganda Super League (USL) Limited had sought for orders quashing an agreement reached between the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) and Azam TV to sponsor and broadcast Uganda’s Premier Football League.
Justice Remmy Kasule ruled that a reversal of the status quo that is prevailing would result into a lot of inconvenience and suffering to a number of stakeholders in the game of football in Uganda, the majority of whom were not parties to the dispute between USL and FUFA.
The Uganda Super League Ltd had sought for an interim order to stay the implementation of the High Court ruling made on March 18 this year allowing an agreement reached between FUFA and Tanzania’s Azam TV to sponsor and broadcast Uganda’s Premier Football League.
USL was arguing that FUFA had breached an earlier agreement it had signed with Uganda Breweries Ltd and Supersport International (Propriety) Limited to provide support and funding as well as commercial broadcasting of Uganda’s football.
According to the record, in January this year, FUFA terminated in writing the agreement on the ground that USL Ltd had failed to fulfill its obligations under that agreement, which the USL Ltd had denied and asserted that FUFA had the obligation to honour it.
However, the court agreed with Justice Yasin Nyanzi of the High Court, who initially dismissed the USL’s application that any order to stop the broadcasting of the football would result in the disruption of the whole arrangement to the detriment of the stakeholders in Uganda’s football.
Richard Mulema-Mukasa and Andrew Oluka appeared for the USL Ltd while Musa Kabega and Evans Ochieng represented FUFA.
“The football league would be played to the end without such broadcasting and the necessary funding being effected and delivered to the stake holders in the game of football in Uganda,” the court ruled.
The court also observed that apart from Azam TV, other stakeholders include the football clubs of the Super League, who benefit out of the present arrangement with Azam TV supporting the Premier League.
“Finally, there is the football loving section of the public in Uganda who would be deprived of watching the games of football televised on their TV sets should an order to stay or injunction be issued,” the further observed.
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