The local football governing body (Ferwafa) has said sponsorship offers which are way bigger than current Bralirwa sponsorship deal will be welcomed. Rwanda Premier League didn’t have a league sponsor last season until Bralirwa put up Rwf 640 million to sponsor the league for the next four years last week. However, club members were reportedly not impressed with the deal claiming that the offer was too small to take if it weren’t for the current financial situation that the football business is going through due to the pandemic. “We are not happy with the current partnership with our sponsor but there is a process to review or even terminate it,” said Olivier Nizeyimana, shortly after being elected Ferwafa President on Sunday, June 27. Bralirwa’s sponsorship package is far less compared to what Azam injected in when the Tanzanian pay television company offered $2.35m (about Rwf2.3 billion) in 2015 to sponsor the league for five years. The broadcasters, however, terminated the deal three years later, accusing Ferwafa of breaching the contract terms. According to Ferwafa Vice President, Marcel Habyarimana, the football governing body is ready to open doors for whoever comes with an offer which is way bigger than Bralirwa’s existing sponsorship deal. “There are clauses in the contract that give us room to welcome talks with a potential partner with a bigger offer at any time. And having a sponsorship contract with them (Bralirwa) does not mean that we are not allowed to welcome more sponsors. We also have the right to work with more than one sponsor,” said Habyarimana. Bralirwa became the sponsor of the Rwandan top division league for the third time, through its alcoholic beverage Primus having previously done so in 2004 and, from 2009 and 2012. However, the deal could be terminated anytime if a partner with a bigger offer comes knocking.
