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The Porcupine Warriors are disgusted by the stance of the national soccer governing body.
Two-time African champion Asante Kotoko has delivered a letter to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) threatening to withdraw from the Premier League (GPL) collective television rights sold to Chinese broadcasting company StarTimes.
The Porcupine Warriors have been at war with the national soccer governing body following a heated disagreement over the club’s attempt to film its first league game against Eleven Wonders for educational purposes (performance analysis) in Accra on Sunday.
Match officials initially delayed Kotoko’s attempt to film the game with her newly acquired soccer video technology, arguing that the activity violated the broadcast agreement with StarTimes. The impasse saw the Porcupine Warriors threaten to leave the game, delaying the start by about 15 minutes. The club, possibly the largest in Ghana, finally got away with it.
The GFA was quick to issue a warning to the club about any future attempts, prompting a swift response from Kotoko, who did not hold back any blows in her response.
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“In your letter, you indicated that match filming violates your contractual obligation to StarTimes Ghana. To this end, we wish to request a copy of the contract between the GFA and StarTimes to enable us to determine our rights and obligations and violations with respect to clubs that they film their matches, “said part of Kotoko’s statement.
“If we do not receive our copy of the contract before Monday, November 23, we would not be in a position to fulfill any obligations towards StarTimes, as we cannot fulfill our obligations without knowing our rights.
“We wish to posit that your decision to prevent clubs from filming matches for educational purposes only is arbitrary with due respect and contrary to the provisions of the Ghana Premier League Regulations (2019).
Filming of the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League matches: @AsanteKotoko_SC Management writes to @ghanafaofficial. Take your time and read. pic.twitter.com/Xmyo1QDKRD
– Jerome Otchere (@JeromeOtchere) November 19, 2020
In the GFA’s warning letter against club filming of matches, it urged clubs to rely on StarTimes to obtain match footage for their performance analysis activities or face disciplinary action.
Kotoko, however, maintains “as a progressive club, we regret to tell you that we cannot rely on StarTimes post-game images for technical analysis as it does not provide the necessary ingredients, especially for analysis.”
“If you continue to insist on this absurd, primitive and backward approach to game development, we will direct you to provide us with the details of your account where we will refund the $ 5,000 [€4,213] of the $ 15,000 [€12,639] you were supposed to pay the clubs as StarTimes sponsorship packages and also inform you of our decision to stop dealing with StarTimes. “
The Porcupine Warriors, winners of the Caf Champions League in 1970 and 1983, are the most successful club in Ghana’s Premier League history, having won the title 23 times.
In the 2019 African Sports Research and Data Technology Center (ASC) Ghana Premier League Report, 41% of respondents in the national survey declared themselves to be Kotoko fans, 14% more than their archrivals Hearts of Oak.
The latest dispute has seen Kotoko fans launch a series of attacks on the GFA and StarTimes television partners, particularly on social media.
In January, StarTimes signed a five-year agreement with the GFA worth $ 5.25 million [€4.42 million] be the exclusive owner of the television rights of the Ghana Premier League.
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