GOIL to sponsor Hearts, Kotoko

Indigenous oil-marketing giants, Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) yesterday announced a 12-month sponsorship deal worth GH¢960,000 with Ghana football powerhouses, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

Under the partnership which was signed yesterday in Accra, GOIL will be mandated to pay a monthly stipend of GH¢40,000 to each club to be used as allowances for their registered players, effective May 1.

GOIL will pay GH¢480,000 to each club for the duration of the contract, effective May 1, and the company will be designated as the Official Fuel/Energy Sponsor of Hearts and Kotoko.

At the unveiling of the deal yesterday, the Managing Director of GOIL, Patrick Akorli, explained that the company was supporting both clubs because they were "undeniably the two biggest clubs in the country in terms of fan base".

"We are starting this year to support the country's two leading traditional clubs, Kotoko and Hearts; our interest and emphasis of support will be on player welfare," he said.

The Chairman of Hearts’ Strategic Management Committee, Vincent Sowah Odotei, who signed the deal on behalf of the Phobians, hailed the partnership as "a good synergy" which would give good value to GOIL. 

The General Manager of Kotoko, Samuel Opoku Nti, who signed on behalf of the club, stated that the sponsorship deal had created a positive buzz in the playing body of his team and came as a relief at a time of soaring overhead costs.