The Consolidated Bank of Ghana Limited has decided to honour the remainder of a three-year sponsorship contract between dissolved uniBank and the senior national team, the Black Stars, Graphic Online has gathered.
The initial three-year deal which saw uniBank become the official bank of the Black Stars was first signed between the bank and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) in 2013 and worth $1.2 million over the period.
Felix Nyakopon, the then CEO of uniBank said: “We are partnering the Black Stars to showcase to the World that Ghanaian businesses can successfully support the Black Stars to climb higher and higher.
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“After very fruitful discussions, uniBank is offering to be a Gold sponsor of the GFA and the Black Stars. We believe in the best and have gone to the best, the Gold Sponsorship.
“This is to support the activities of the GFA and the Black Stars to be the best as we add our token to the many others.”
It was renewed in 2016 for another three years and still has one year to run until it expires in 2019.
Some analysts suggested that the deal will be truncated after the bank was declared insolvent by the Bank of Ghana in August 2018 and subsequently merged with four other banks to form the Consolidated Bank of Ghana Limited.
However, according to a source at the Consolidated Bank, the contract will be allowed to run its course after which an assessment will be made on whether it will be renewed.
The bank has since issued a farewell message to the Black Stars as they prepare to face Sierra Leone in an AFCON 2019 Group F qualifier on October 11 at the Baba Yara Stadium.
Background
On November 7, 2013, uniBank became the first indigenous and wholly owned Ashanti bank to sponsor the Ghana national football team The Black Stars in a three-year deal worth 1.2 million dollars.
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At the time, the deal was hailed by Kwesi Nyantakyi, President of the GFA and was considered timely as the team was preparing for their final phase of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The bank per the agreement paid the Ghana Football Association 400,000 dollars per year during the duration of the contract which was renewed in 2016.
On August 1, 2018, the Bank of Ghana merged uniBank with four other banks to form the Consolidated Bank of Ghana Limited.
The move followed the insolvency of the five banks after investigations by Bank of Ghana (BoG).
Until now it was unclear if the new entity would honour the remainder of the contract.
Source: Graphic.com.gh