HOW CAN THE LOCAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE BENEFIT FROM THE GHANAIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY?

How can the local football league benefit from the Ghanaian auto industry?.

The automobile industry, like any other, is a potential source of avenue to market new models of vehicles and give updates of new services it provides. Football has always been the passion of the people and these troop in their numbers to watch a game whether at the stadium or on TV at the pubs.

In Europe, football teams have benefited from various automobile firms through sponsorship and endorsement deals. Italian giants Juventus football club has had a long standing relationship with auto maker JEEP as their kit sponsor according to sportskeeda.com. Real Madrid has a sponsorship agreement with German auto makers AUDI where each player is supplied with an Audi vehicle. 

German Football Team BAYERN MUNICH in a photo shot with models of auto dealer AUDI. Image by GETTY IMAGES.

According to SPORTS BUSINESS INSTITUTE 2017 report on CAR SPONSORSHIP in European football, English club Manchester United has the biggest deal with the auto firm CHEVROLET worth $560m.

This is not the same in Ghana. There are a host of franchises of auto makers in Ghana but none of them is riding on the “passion of the people” to market its product and services. So, I teamed up with fellow blogger and sports writer BAFFOUR AMOAKO ADU of baffysportsnews.wordpress.com to discuss this situation and how the two can marry.

Edmond Flynt (EF): Baffour, our local football league is not benefiting from the Ghanaian auto industry in terms of sponsorships. What actually is the problem?

Baffour Amoako Adu (BAA):  Our local league is not attractive.

EF: what do you mean by our league not being attractive?

BAA: our teams are not well branded. So, they cannot offer that mileage that an auto Company or potential sponsor will demand for. This comes in the form of commercial and stadium attendance. So they will not get the exposure they would want. It’s only a match between kotoko and hearts of oak that produces a higher attendance level and even that is going down.

EF: What else do the European teams have that is absent here?

BAA: they also have good football structures in terms of administration.

EF: Any other thing else?

BAA: Our economic situation as a country does not favour a potential sponsor. The average fee charged at the stadium is GH¢ 15.00. Those who attend the matches at the stadiums are middle to lower class in the economic ladder and cannot afford the cars these auto Companies advertise out there.

EF:  With Ghana FA having knowledge of this situation, what are they doing about it? Auto dealers are always looking for avenues to market their products.

BAA:  The FA administration is not focused on helping the clubs. They are rather focused on individual glories than helping the clubs benefit from the auto industry in Ghana financially.

Also, sponsoring the national football teams comes with tax exemptions for some number of years but this is not the same for the local teams.

EF: in this instance, what are the clubs doing own their own their own to attract them?

BAA:  Unlike clubs such as TP MAZEMBE, EL AHLY and MAMELODI SUNDOWNS, Ghanaian clubs do not have rich club owners. In Ghana, owners invest just to get a seat at the football association. These owners (TP MAZEMBE etc) can afford to buy cars for the team members and offer mileage to the auto companies in exchange for sponsorship. They understand investing into a club.

Just now, if an auto firm wants to give out 16 buses to the league clubs for free so that they brand it and get some mileage, can the football clubs maintain the buses.An injunction was placed on the league last week, how can this attract potential sponsors.

If an auto dealer want to supply each player of a local league team a car for free for them to maintain it, can the players maintain it, so that they will drive it around in town to attract the fans to go buy some of the cars? , the answer is no.

EF: Football and sports as a whole has always been a great platform for advertisement and mutual growth. Auto dealers are increasing sales by advertising with the clubs out there in Europe and creating job opportunities. It is sad this is not the same in our jurisdiction. In your final words, what direction can the club take to take advantage of this opportunity?

BAA: Teams like INTER ALLIES AND DREAMS FC have structures in place so they are able to attract other firms to sponsor them. On a national level, structures and laws should be put in place and enforced so that the clubs and the auto industry can have mutual benefits.

Conclusion:

The auto industry has a huge potential to flourish in Ghana through collaboration with other arts and football is a great one. It is sad this is not the same in Ghana. With the right structures more revenue can be generated through a mutually beneficial collaboration.