The Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) alongside the Uganda Premier League (UPL) have Wednesday, 09, formally endorsed MTN Uganda, as the Official Broadcast Sponsor of the StarTimes Uganda Premier League.
This development promises to compliment the great strides the governing bodies of FUFA and UPL have made in promoting and growing Ugandan football over the years.
Under the two year partnership, MTN Uganda has committed to contribute some UGX 600 million as support to clubs in the league through the MTN Fans Awards that will reward performing players, coaches, and clubs throughout the league season.
Depending on table rankings, all clubs will also receive a token financial reward at the end of the season.
Under the MTN Fans Awards, fans will choose players and coaches of the month and season. There will also be cash prizes for outstanding players in every match.
The two-year commitment will see MTN Uganda spend UGX 300M per year, with part of the money shared by clubs as prize money at the end of the StarTimes UPL season, increasing the prize money offered by FUFA.
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Speaking at the event held at Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala, FUFA’s 3rd Vice President Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi, welcomed the move, pointing out the need for harmony between all stakeholders to grow the much-loved sport.
“It’s good for the no.1 telecom network in the country to partner with the no.1 footballing country in the region. Football is an indirect means of communication. It’s a vehicle for economic development and unity. I would be right to say that this partnership is long overdue,” Nakiwala said.
Echoing Nakiwala’s comment, the Vice Chairman for the UPL board David Sserebe, welcomed MTN back home to Ugandan football, and pondered that “The memories are great the future is going to be far, far greater.”
On his part, Bernard Bainamani, the UPL Chief Executive, said, “MTN is a big brand. The coming on board of MTN is a vote of confidence for other big brands to follow suit.”
The Ugandan soccer administration units recognition of MTN’s contribution in promoting Ugandan football through broadcasting the SUPL on TV is a milestone that will see the game reach wider audiences across the country.
To compliment the TV live broadcasts, MTN together with Sanyuka TV will activate live viewer parks in different locations especially in Kampala for the public to watch the games and in the process win various prizes through on ground activations.
The partnership will also see bigger MTN brand presence on match days through activations such as “Ekituuti”, where fans will share their opinions of games live on TV, and the “MTN Fans’ Corner” where fans interact with players and coaches.
Speaking at the press conference, Somdev Sen, MTN Uganda’s Chief Marketing Officer said that: “With the reopening of the economy and permitting of social activities, the timing to energize local football is perfect.”
Adding, “This move to recognize the people and institutions that promote local football is a sure way of growing this much-loved sport in our country.”
The StarTimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL) is the biggest local football league in Uganda with 320 scheduled matches in the 2020/21 season, 100 of these matches will be broadcast live as a function of the partnership package.
The tournament features 16 clubs with over 400 players and each club will have an appearance on TV during the season.
The tournament has an estimated viewership of over 10 – 15 million Ugandans.
The cash prizes for the MTN Fans player of the match, player and coach of the month, as well as the Fans Player, Coach and Club of the season, plus the cash contributions to all the SUPL clubs at the end of the season will be announced in due course.
