SuperSport threatens to pull out of Ghana League

Mr Cecil Sunkwa-Mills, the General Manager at Multichoice Ghana Limited, has hinted that the broadcast rights holders of the Ghana Premier League (GPL), SuperSport International, might not renew the contract when it expires in September 2016.

Mr Sunkwa-Mills told the Graphic Sports that he would find it difficult to justify to the Multichoice Group why the GPL broadcast contract should be renewed because of the delay in the start of the 2014/2015 season, which is causing his outfit millions of cedis in losses each passing day.

He said: “we are just hoping that they find an amicable resolution to the situation so we can get on. If it is not resolved early it will be difficult to justify the appetite to consider sponsoring the Ghana Premier League because it is a drain on our resources.”

“I cannot estimate the losses as I speak, but we have two Out Broadcast (OB) vans with 40 staff lying dormant without producing the content we promised to give to our subscribers. In effect, we are paying dividends for something that we are not producing and our losses run into millions.

Mr Sunkwa-Mills, a boyhood fan of Accra Hearts of Oak, disclosed that he always felt embarrassed at Multichoice Group meetings when African football was being discussed.

“When we meet as a group and we are talking about football leagues, I actually have to bow my head because I have nothing to say and my section is making huge losses everyday as a result. If you look across our platforms all the countries are running their leagues,” he lamented.

SuperSport signed a three-year deal with the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on September 20, 2013, to produce and broadcast the national league, as well as the MTN FA Cup.

Although the terms of the contract were not disclosed, the GFA vice president, Fred Crentsil, described the deal as one of the most valuable agreements in Ghana football's history.