Ghana's football oversight body has warned MTN Ghana to end its advertisement campaign with images of the country's national team that is currently running ahead of the Ghana and Nigeria international friendly scheduled for August 9 in London. The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has called on lawyers to intervene to prevent Glo Mobile Ghana and other sponsors from facing what they have dubbed “ambush marketing.” In 2008, following the acquisition of an operating license in Ghana, Nigeria-based Globacom signed a five-year sponsorship agreement with the GFA, which made Glo the title sponsor of the Ghana Premier League as well as the headline sponsor of the Ghana national team, the Black Stars. This means that MTN should not be allowed to advertise using images of the national team under the sponsorship agreement with Glo. Under the agreement, Glo has since 2009 supported the Black Stars with a cash donation every year. In return, the GFA grants Glo exclusivity in the telecommunications category of the sponsorship. But an MTN official, who asked not to be named, said the advertisement does not infringe upon other agreements as “we are not using the advertisement to say we are the sponsor of the Ghana national team. Everyone should have a right to use public officials and athletes in ads.” It is unclear if official legal action would take place, but analysts said the possibility will loom over the country's telecom sector beyond Tuesday's match. BM
