By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo,
One of Cameroon’s leading company in the telecommunication sector, MTN to remain as the title sponsor of the Professional Football League of Cameroon for the 2018/2019 football season.
The firm confirmed their commitment to the topflight in a statement is contained in a communique issued May 7 in Douala shortly after MTN and the Professional Football League readjusted their respective engagements for 2018/2019 football season.
Signed on Friday, May 4 in Yaounde by General Pierre Semengue, President of the Cameroon Professional Football League and Saim Yaksan, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Cameroon, MTN will have exclusive rights over the Electronic Communications Sector and Mobile Financial Services.
After assessing the first year of implementation of the Agreement that was signed on May 17, 2017, both parties agreed that the National Division One and Two Football Championships will maintain the “MTN Elite One” and “MTN Elite Two” appellation for 2018. To that effect, the Professional Football League shall thereafter grant MTN preemption rights over the appointment of the Title Sponsor of these two national competitions in 2019.
Meanwhile commenting after signing the addendum to the Sponsorship Agreement of 17 May 2017, Saim Yaksan, noted with satisfaction that, “MTN remains the major promoter of local football in Cameroon.”
To General Pierre Semengue, “the addendum to the Sponsorship Convention of 17 May 2017 is a good agreement which preserves the interests of main local football stakeholders which are the clubs.”
It is worth nothing that the recent communique has come to clear the minds of observers and the sport family after rumours were rife that the mobile telephone company will not be sponsoring the football league again.
However, sources close to the league say, MTN had invested some FCFA 610 million last season and will invest the same amount this season. In 2019 due to some difficulties, MTN will invest only FCFA 210 million
Nevertheless, when the ongoing Sponsorship Agreement ends in 2019, MTN Cameroon would have invested a total of FCFA 1.430 billion in the organisation of the National Division One and Two Football Championships in Cameroon.
Moreover, MTN has invested over FCFA 7 billion in the organisation of local competitions between 2002 and 2013.
