The 2016/17 MTN FA Cup competition has been officially launched at a short ceremony held at the M Plaza Hotel in Accra today.
Official headline sponsors MTN and broadcast right holders, StarTimes took charge of the ceremony as they held a live draw for the preliminary stage of the competition, which is programmed to commence on March 22, 2017.
Kurt Okraku, who is the Chairman of the MTN FA Cup Committee addressed and announced the theme for this season’s competition.
“This year, our intentions are that, we’re going to use football as a vehicle of pushing the message of living healthy lives, thus the theme of the competition is; “Keep Ghana Clean”.
“MTN has impacted the lives of various stakeholders since their partnership with the FA Cup, from players to officials and, this year, our ten-year partnership with StarTimes will help thrive the message of keeping Ghana clean,” Okraku noted.
The Marketing Manager of StarTimes, Ernest Adday, expressed his delight about their partnership with MTN, and invited corporate Ghana to come on board to support the development of football in the country.
He said: “Our partnership with the MTN FA Cup will help players across the country showcase themselves. However, the more fundamental institutional framework which needs to be considered and involved must properly be instituted to attract corporate Ghana to help the development of sports.
“At StartTimes, we are poised to build ten new pitches across the country over a ten-year period. However, this assistance can easily be multiplied with the assistance of corporate institutions, “Mr. Adday said.
Mr. Richard Acheampong, Marketing Director of MTN, congratulated previous winners of the tournament and the various stakeholders who have effectively managed the competition so far. He further reiterated the company’s desire to help young and upcoming footballers in their quest to nurture their respective careers.
“On behalf of the management of MTN, I want to welcome you to the launch of 2016/17 MTN FA Cup competition. The competition has been an exciting one so far since we came on board in 2010.
“We will like to say kudos to all the winners of previous competitions and, congratulate the Ghana Football Association and MTN FA Cup Committee for managing the competition effectively.
“As we launch this competition, it’s our hope that we will discover new talent to add to those we discovered over the years. Ghana is a football country and, we can only wish that our football will grow, “Mr. Acheampong ended.