GFA lost over $5 million annual Guinness Ghana sponsorship deal after FDA rejection – Kurt Okraku
Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku has revealed that the association lost a major sponsorship opportunity worth over $5 million annually after the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) rejected a proposed investment by Guinness Ghana Limited in the Ghana Premier League.
According to Okraku, Guinness Ghana Limited approached the GFA with plans to invest heavily in the country’s top-flight football competition, prompting a series of meetings to facilitate the proposed deal.
However, he said the discussions ended unsuccessfully after the FDA declined to approve the sponsorship.
Speaking before Parliament’s Sports Select Committee, Okraku disclosed that the proposed deal was worth over $5 million per year, describing it as a major financial opportunity lost by Ghanaian football.
“We were approached by Guinness Ghana Limited wanting to invest heavily in the Ghana Premier League. We did whatever we had to do. We had a series of meetings. At the end, FDA said no. The deal was, if I’m not mistaken, over $5 million a year. We lost it. That provision that allows FDA to say yes or no to sponsorship still exists within our books. If there’s one thing that you can do to help sports and football, that would be for you to lead the charge to completely take out that provision.” – GFA president Kurt Okraku told Parliament Sports Select Committee
He further appealed to Parliament to lead efforts to remove the provision that gives the FDA the authority to approve or reject sponsorship deals, arguing that its removal could help attract major investments into Ghanaian sports.
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