The 2016/2017 Premier League is yet to begin with all the uncertainties over the real date for commencement, indicating how tortuous the next journey could be.
Yes, for the first time in many years, some enticing offers have emerged, giving us the feeling that all will be well with the media sponsorship, as in quick turns Sports Cul Ghana Limited has promised to offer the winners of the competition $400,000, apart from the prize money that will be provided by the organisers of the league.
Then there is that huge media sponsorship agreed upon between the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and StarTimes which sent the president of the FA, Kwesi Nyantakyi, travelling to China to append his signature to the deal.
The two deals sent some shockwaves to those who were trumpeting that the standards of our soccer had fallen and, for that matter, the competition was losing its sponsorship packages that many corporate bodies had fought for in the past.
They could be right somehow, as was exemplified by the lack of sponsorship for the entire 2015/2016 season’s league, which was eventually won by Wa All Stars for the first time.
It will be recalled that when the 2014/2015 sponsorship deal by First Capital Plus Bank was suddenly abrogated midway through the season, a lot of speculations were made about who would offer any huge sum of money to guarantee the improvement of our football.
Everybody is aware of the fact that to organise football in all divisions is capital intensive, and that there must be a breakthrough in that venture.
Of course, the FA cannot do without sponsorship, as the clubs would face financial difficulties and would be not be able to make do with poorly-motivated playing body.
I think it is for the difficulty of securing the headline sponsorship that the president of the FA and his members quickly jumped on the offer spelt out by StarTimes with that amount of $17,9 million which could cater for at least some financial scratches.
The deal was made public immediately last Wednesday and at once it became a topic for discussion with the main point of focus being the period of 10 years that the sponsorship would run. Interestingly, that deal was set in motion even before the debate about its viability was over.
For some curious fans who watched last Sunday's "el-classico" between the country's two most glamorous clubs in the on-going G6 in Kumasi, the StarTimes symbol was on display on the GTV screen.
It is, therefore, clear that without waiting for the final verdict on whether the agreement was properly studied to determine how it would benefit the nation for the next 10 years, or not, it had already been set in motion.
What the critics were wondering was whether the amount of $1.79 million a year deal for all the Premier League clubs, the annual Gala, the Division One League (DOL), the MTN FA Cup, the National Women's League and the Juvenile League for the next 10 years would help our football to reach the dream level.
Of course, the speed at which the deal was brokered and signed in China showed how desperate the FA were in securing that kind of sponsorship in recent times.
Well, this is media sponsorship unlike the main headline sponsorship which saw in recent times companies like Kinapharma, Glo Communications of Nigeria, the First Capital Plus Bank (now Capital Bank) jumping with enthusiasm to take the lead.
One might have expected that proper due diligence would be done to better the deal before the signature, especially in this era that 10 years seem too long a period due to the unpredictability of the dollar rate and the instability (devaluation) of our currency, the cedi. And is it not possible for other corporate entities to challenge the Chinese, or was there any special interest somewhere?
Right, in all aspects of speculation, what comes to mind is whether all aspects of the game would be taken into consideration before any sponsor comes on board. Are the sponsors who throw in their huge capital into the competition not conscious of the poor show in the field of officiating which in some way seems to be the cause of the dwindling spectatorship?
In the first test case of the recent media sponsorship, with the local "el-classico" in Kumasi, what might have attracted the attention of all was the way the referee tried to equate the balance after the clean foul play committed by the Kotoko goalkeeper in his penalty area, and the way he tried to balance it with the supposed handball committed by Hearts defender in his penalty area.
Who says the world is not watching those corrupt practices by our referees? Have we so soon forgotten about what happened to our own FIFA referee Joseph Lamptey, whose conduct in a World Cup qualifier at Mekaba Stadium in Polokwame in South Africa between South Africa’s Bafana Bafana and the Teranga Lions of Senegal?
It must be noted that whether sponsorship will be lucrative or not will depend on the activities of our officiating officials, and how they conduct themselves.
Is it not unfortunate that our beloved 42-year-old central referee that we trust down here will miss out at the upcoming AFCON 2017, where he was lined up to officiate at the continental showpiece that attracts the best in Africa?
Records show that this is not the first time Referee Lamptey had been involved in contentious decisions that had forced action from the continental governing body.
In 2010, he was suspended for six months for controversial decision in a CAF Champions League semi-final between Egyptian champions, Al-Ahly, and Esperence of Tunisia when he allowed a handball goal by one striker, Michael Eneramo, to stand for the Tunisians.
There is no doubt that the corporate world is taking notice of such corrupt activities involving our compatriots, and for sure it will go to spell a doom when it comes to seeking sponsorship.
As we look forward to a headline sponsor for the coming season, let us find ways to make our game as clean as the corporate world would want it to be.
Indeed, it will all be well if the FA would check itself before making any fresh approach for such huge sponsorship deal in the near future! Good luck!