Vodacom extends football deal

Moorosi Tsiane

Telecommunications giant, Vodacom Lesotho, has extended its sponsorship of the Premier League by one year.
A company official, Johnny Dos Santos, announced the extension during last Wednesday’s Premier League awards ceremony held at a local hotel.

Vodacom has been bankrolling the topflight football league since 2009/10, starting with a one-year deal. The company renewed the sponsorship the following season, penning a three-year deal worth M1million a year. The partnership was then extended by one year last season, and expired at the end of the 2013/14 programme.
But according to Dos Santos, the company is happy with the partnership, hence the one-season extension.

“We are very impressed, as Vodacom Lesotho, to see the league growing from strength to strength, and are proud to announce that we are extending our sponsorship by one year. The amount of money remains the same, and we look forward to working together with the league,” Dos Santos said.

Dos Santos thanked the league’s management for their professionalism, despite working under difficult conditions.
“This sponsorship started about five years ago, and we have faced a lot of challenges along the way. However, we must thank the Premier League as our product has continued to grow,” said Dos Santos.
On his part, league chairman, Lebohang Thotanyana, thanked Vodacom for the funding, without which, it would have been impossible to operate.
“We have faced a lot of challenges running the league, and it would not have been possible to operate without the support of our sponsors,” Thotanyana said.
“I wish to thank Vodacom for this trust and as a league, we really appreciate the support.”

Thotanyana further said the league has been doing quite well, adding the results could be seen in the good showing by both the national team, Likuena, and national under-20 side, Makoanyane XI, which are both made up of locally-based players.

Likuena last month brewed a shocker by beating the much-fancied Lone Stars of Liberia 2-1 on aggregate to advance to the second round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. On the other hand, Makoanyane XI have beaten Swaziland and Angola in the 2015 African Youth Championship qualifiers, and are now one fixture away—against Nigeria—from qualifying for the competition.
“Our league has been doing well and thanks to Vodacom, the good job is now bearing fruit at a much higher level. The impressive performance by our two national sides is testimony of this fruitful partnership,” said Thotanyana.

Thotanyana , who is also president of Premier League giants, Lioli, further said details of the Vodacom deal would be released in due course.