SUVA – Fiji soccer giants Ba is on the verge of disassociating itself from its major sponsors Vodafone Fiji Ltd.
The Men In Black who struck a three –year deal in 2007 with the telecommunication company are hunting for new sponsors this season, hoping to put more sponsorship to its value as the best premier team in Fiji Football.
Ba president Rishi Kumar has confirmed that they have decided to look for new sponsors in 2009 as they weren’t getting much out of the Vodafone sponsorship to run the day to day affairs of the association.
“Managing a district is a very expensive exercise and we need big sponsorship to survive, said Kumar.
“The demands of Vodafone are too much while the value we get out of the sponsorship is not healthy enough for us to survive in the new season as we have to travel out of the country as well for our O League commitments.
“Football in Fiji is heading towards professionalism and we need a strong and sound financial to remain competitive with the other districts.
“Ba is a champion district and has a much more market value than what currently is been offered.
“We need to distinguish ourselves from the other districts and need a unique sponsor to market us further.
Kumar also added that his company 4R Electric will continue to sponsor Ba in 2009 although some bigger sponsors are been targeted for the boys from the soccer crazy town.
Vodafone’s Manager Corporate Affairs, Shailendra Prasad when contacted to comment on the issue said the company will be issuing a media statement on Monday to explain their side of the story.
He confirmed they had a contract with Ba till 2010 but added there was an agreed clause in the contract which can be used to void the contract if both the parties mutually agreed to it.
Vodafone is also the official sponsor of the Labasa soccer side.
Story courtesy www.fijilive.com