Ghana Premier League Secures New Deal with StarTimes After Debt Settlement

After months of negotiations, StarTimes Ghana is set to resume its role as the official broadcast partner of the Ghana Premier League.

The two parties, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Chinese-owned broadcast company, have reached an agreement following a series of successful talks.

The partnership comes after the expiration of the previous contract, which left both the GFA and StarTimes locked in discussions over extending their collaboration.

However, unresolved debts from the previous contract had initially put the deal in jeopardy.

The GFA was owed approximately $950,000, with $180,000 of that sum owed directly to Premier League clubs.

Under the terms of the previous deal, StarTimes was supposed to pay $30,000 per season to the clubs, but after making the first two payments, the company failed to meet its obligations due to financial constraints.

A key point of contention was the exchange rate. The original contract did not specify a fixed dollar rate, which caused problems as Ghana’s cedi depreciated against the US dollar.

As a result, StarTimes faced increasing payments, while its subscription and decoder sales were made in Ghanaian cedis.

In response, StarTimes proposed a revision to the terms, asking for a new, fixed exchange rate for the outstanding debts.

The new agreement has resolved this issue, with both parties agreeing on a rate that will allow StarTimes to clear the debts.

With the financial matters settled, StarTimes has been officially re-engaged as the broadcast partner for the Ghana Premier League.

The new deal is expected to take effect when the second round of the ongoing season kicks off on January 24, 2025.

This marks a return for StarTimes, which has been the league’s primary broadcaster since entering the Ghanaian market in 2019.

Currently, league matches are being broadcast on free-to-air channel AFA Sports and relayed on Metro TV, Globe TV, and Original TV.

However, clubs have not been receiving aurn of StarTimes is expected to bring stability and financial support to the clubs, which are eager to see the long-awaited return of a reliable broadcast partner.