Orange Sierra Leone on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 signed a sponsorship agreement worth One Billion Leones with four Premier League clubs.
The signing of a memorandum of understanding with the four football clubs was held at Orange headquarters in Freetown.
The signing of the MOU came ahead of the second phase of the Sierra Leone Premier League which is scheduled to commence Friday, February 11, 2022, at the Siaka Stevens stadium in Freetown.
Speaking during the singing of the MOU, the Chief Executive Officer of Orange Sierra Leone, Aminata Kane, disclosed that the sponsorship will last for three years, and within period, they will provide internet facility, broadcasting their games on all their partner radio stations and forward SMS with links to watch the game live.
She added that Orange will also provide support to show key matches live on their platforms, provide two Speed boxes and 100GB monthly, and profiling players and clubs.
“Football is part of the Sierra Leone DNA. We love the game, and it has served as a mechanism to bring us together in good times and in not-so-good times,” Madam Kane stated.
“Football has thrived because of the love from the people, the support of the President, the hard work the leaders in the Football Association has put in, the resilience and dedication of the clubs, the players and coaches and the gleeful cheer of the fans. And we believe that it will only get better as football is fast becoming one of the prides of Sierra Leone,” Madam Aminata Kane furthered.
She further maintained that Orange SL is supporting and strengthening ideas, initiatives and projects that are geared towards bringing joy and laughter to the lives of people and organizations, as well as ultimately fostering improvement and development in Sierra Leone.
Delivery his keynote address, the Minister of Sport, Ibrahim Nyelenkeh, expressed his thanks and appreciation to the company for deciding to sponsor these four teams which arguably will meet their expectations. He appealed to the management of Orange to support more teams that areparticipating in the League, as teams are lacking funds to carry on their activities.
He assured clubs that are not part of the MOU that he will surely find a way for them to receive sponsorship from the company and other organizations.
The Minister advised authorities of the beneficiary clubs not to embezzle the monies but to rather distribute them to all their players in their respective teams.
“I want to see Orange Sierra Leone embarking on Sporting infrastructure now as the country is dire in need of it, as the national stadium will be closed by the 23rd of this month,” he said.
By Desmond Tunde Coker