GTV deal will change face of football
Aug 05, 2007
SOCCER governing body FUFA has taken a major step towards a professional league by securing a sh8.4bn sponsorship with new pay television Gateway Broadcast Services.
By Norman Katende
HIGHLIGHTS
Key agreements of the sh8.4bn GTV-FUFA deal
- Each Super League club assured of sh32m sponsorship annually to include travel costs for upcountry games.
- Clubs to be paid four equal quarterly installments in October, January, April and July.
- League champions to win shs26m each year
- Every club to earn prize money
- Player of the year, golden boot to share sh16m annually
- Sh16m for development of football
- GTV to broadcast Super league, Kakungulu cup
- GTV to take 40% from gates of ONLY televised games
- Each club to have at least two games live on GTV watched across Africa and Europe
- To support BUT not to televise Cranes activities
- League fixtures out a month in advance
- Fixture changes discouraged, and only possible with a two-weeks notice
- Every player to have permanent shirt numbers for full season (replica shirts)
- Agreement to be renewed in 2011.
- Clubs encouraged to get shirt and other sponsors
SOCCER governing body FUFA has taken a major step towards a professional league by securing a sh8.4bn sponsorship with new pay television Gateway Broadcast Services.
UK-based GTV have stormed the continent by snatching rights to broadcast 80% of English Premier League games to Africa. The move to sponsor the local league aims at creating an even a bigger audience for their television products.
The local Super League clubs have been encouraged to acquire sponsors especially for their shirts, but according to a reliable source who has seen the GTV-FUFA agreement, club chairmen will be the happiest after being assured of sh32m annually.
According to the source, the 18 clubs in the Super Division League will get $20,000 (sh32m) in four installments throughout the year, to help them in preparing for the league.
To ensure the money is well used and the league turns professional, FUFA president Lawrence Mulindwa has stressed that this season, clubs must sign contracts with their players. Mulindwa’s 2005 election manifesto stated that he hoped to have football on TV in 2007 and professionalise the Ugandan soccer league in 2009.
All clubs will also get prize money for being able to finish the league, which will start from sh26m for the winner to sh1m for the bottom-placed club as the federation increases competition, most especially among the mid-table clubs that have for the past years been fighting for nothing save for surviving in top flight soccer.
A team finishing fourth will earn sh10m.
However, while the FUFA marketing committee must be smiling, competitions committee boss Moses Magogo has been handed the task of running a perfect league similar to that in Europe where fixtures rarely change.
HIGHLIGHTS
Key agreements of the sh8.4bn GTV-FUFA deal
- Each Super League club assured of sh32m sponsorship annually to include travel costs for upcountry games.
- Clubs to be paid four equal quarterly installments in October, January, April and July.
- League champions to win shs26m each year
- Every club to earn prize money
- Player of the year, golden boot to share sh16m annually
- Sh16m for development of football
- GTV to broadcast Super league, Kakungulu cup
- GTV to take 40% from gates of ONLY televised games
- Each club to have at least two games live on GTV watched across Africa and Europe
- To support BUT not to televise Cranes activities
- League fixtures out a month in advance
- Fixture changes discouraged, and only possible with a two-weeks notice
- Every player to have permanent shirt numbers for full season (replica shirts)
- Agreement to be renewed in 2011.
- Clubs encouraged to get shirt and other sponsors
SOCCER governing body FUFA has taken a major step towards a professional league by securing a sh8.4bn sponsorship with new pay television Gateway Broadcast Services.
UK-based GTV have stormed the continent by snatching rights to broadcast 80% of English Premier League games to Africa. The move to sponsor the local league aims at creating an even a bigger audience for their television products.
The local Super League clubs have been encouraged to acquire sponsors especially for their shirts, but according to a reliable source who has seen the GTV-FUFA agreement, club chairmen will be the happiest after being assured of sh32m annually.
According to the source, the 18 clubs in the Super Division League will get $20,000 (sh32m) in four installments throughout the year, to help them in preparing for the league.
To ensure the money is well used and the league turns professional, FUFA president Lawrence Mulindwa has stressed that this season, clubs must sign contracts with their players. Mulindwa’s 2005 election manifesto stated that he hoped to have football on TV in 2007 and professionalise the Ugandan soccer league in 2009.
All clubs will also get prize money for being able to finish the league, which will start from sh26m for the winner to sh1m for the bottom-placed club as the federation increases competition, most especially among the mid-table clubs that have for the past years been fighting for nothing save for surviving in top flight soccer.
A team finishing fourth will earn sh10m.
However, while the FUFA marketing committee must be smiling, competitions committee boss Moses Magogo has been handed the task of running a perfect league similar to that in Europe where fixtures rarely change.