MTN returns as official sponsor of
Professional Football
 |
| General Semengue and PhilisiweSibiya exchange books at signing ceremony |
-The telephone operator plans to invest 3bn
cfa during a three-year period
MTN Cameroon, leader of the electronics
communications sector in Cameroon, has on Thursday, 11 May 2017, signed a
partnership agreement with the Professional Football League of Cameroon (LFPC)
on the sponsoring of national football competitions organized by the League.
According
to the three-year-term convention, LFPC shall attribute to MTN Cameroon, the
capacity of “Official and Exclusive Partner of the electronic communications
and mobile financial services sector” for the organization of the National
Division One and Division Two championships respectively re-named as MTN Elite
One and MTN Elite Two.
The
Partnership Agreement symbolizes MTN’s come-back in the organisation of
national competitions in Cameroon. MTN had already been the main sponsor of
local football competitions in Cameroon between 2002 and 2013.
“It
is with immense pleasure and pride that I take the floor before the legendary
Cameroonian football family represented here. Today, MTN CAMEROON is taking
back its rightful place in this family, beside the Professional Football League
of Cameroon……When General Pierre SEMENGUE, President of the Professional
Football League of Cameroon, contacted MTN in November 2016, requesting that we
come back as Official Sponsor of the League, we examined the conditions of such
a come-back in consultation with the MTN GROUP, we considered how we could
further contribute to the sustainable development of football in Cameroon,”
said PhilisiweSibiya, CEO of MTN Cameroon, in her scripted remarks at the
signing ceremony.
“At
MTN, we have always believed in the immense potential of Cameroonian football
that has brought so much joy and recognition to the continent. From generation to generation, Cameroon has
produced talented football players who have made us the envy of millions of
people the world over. Amongst these great talents, we are extremely honored to
have within our midst this morning: Joseph-Antoine BELL, Captain Rigobert SONG,
Captain Stephen TATAW, Gérémie NJITAP, Pierre WOME, Salomon OLEMBE, Lucien
METTOMO, added Sibiya, noting that “despite the incomparable richness of human
capital, Cameroonian football is unfortunately still seriously hampered by
economic difficulties.”
She
added that in its bid to contribute towards ameliorating the conditions of the
organization of national football, MTN also participates in the development of
football at the grassroots.
It
should be noted that for over 11 years, that is, since 2002, MTN has
contributed to the relaunch, development and sustainability of club football.
The company has also participated in enhancing sports infrastructures by
building two municipal stadiums that meet international standards in Mbouda in
the West Region, and Guider in the North Region.
MTN,
for this come-back, plans to invest an average of 1 billion FCFA per year, for
three years, to finance the Partnership Agreement signed with the League.
Authorities
of the mobile operator regret however that “whatever efforts a sponsor makes to
support local football, these efforts would not produce any long-lasting impact
if football stakeholders do not distinguish themselves by their seriousness,
their professionalism, and their ardent wish to leave their imprint on
Cameroonian football.”
“If
internal fights between football managers replace sports encounters to the
point of negatively affecting the performance of players; If the programming of
matches is uncertain and does not give room for the follow up of the evolution
of teams, local football runs the risk of discouraging the most committed
supporters, and even more so, the sponsor, who has a brand image to protect,”
Sibiya remarked.
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