Eli Kondoh, the Communications Officer for StarTimes Ghana, has disclosed that the company has made partial payment toward the outstanding sum of over $800,000 owed to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) from their previous broadcasting agreement for the Ghana Premier League.
After the conclusion of the GFA’s five-year collaboration with Chinese media company StarTimes, television rights were transferred to AFA TV and Globe TV.
Throughout the season, there were indications that renewal discussions were underway. However, those negotiations were officially discontinued in May.
The GFA later clarified that both sides were unable to reach a consensus, attributing the breakdown to StarTimes’ inability to settle the remaining amount from the $5.25 million contract signed in 2020.
Now, Kondoh has confirmed that StarTimes has started settling the debt. “If you’re owing somebody in excess of five million dollars and you pay as much, and it’s left with a little over eight hundred thousand dollars, it means that a lot of money has gone into the whole project,” Kondoh said. “Just a few weeks ago, some amount of that outstanding balance has already been paid. So it means that StarTimes remains committed to the project of building Ghana football. “So yes, it started very well. It didn’t end badly either, and those outstanding amounts will also be cleared.”
Kondoh also disclosed that despite the collapse of renewal talks, StarTimes is still open to returning as a GFA broadcast partner. “It might not be specifically the Ghana Premier League—or maybe just an aspect of the league—but there are talks ongoing. It could be production. “So the talks are still in progress, and once they are finalised, I’m sure you’ll get hold of it, and then we can communicate to the viewers exactly the details of the new terms that might come up.”
Source: My joy online
Leave a Reply