Carlsberg-Liverpool, Chang Beer-Everton, Guinness-Premier League, Heineken-UEFA Champions League, Diageo-FIFA World Cup, and even Club Beer-2026 World Cup activations.
The aforementioned in the opening paragraph are historic partnerships between alcoholic beverage companies and football brands.
These partnerships have evidently enjoyed economic advantages, leading to the development of their respective sporting disciplines and brands.
The Ghana Premier League (GPL), in a revelation made by the president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr Kurt Okraku, lost a potential investment of USD5 million from Guinness Ghana.
This is not the first time cash injection from the alcoholic beverage industry has been cried for by the GFA.
The problem, according to comments made so far in recent years, isn’t the lack of willingness by the companies to invest but the strict stance of Ghana’s Food and Drug Authority (FDA) on the policy of alcoholic beverage companies involved in sports.
Sitting before the Parliamentry Select Committee for Sports on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, Mr Okraku confessed about the GFA’s struggles to get enough sponsorship for Ghana’s top-flight football division.
“We were approached by Guinness Ghana Limited wanting to invest heavily in the Ghana Premier League. We did whatever we had to do. We had a series of meetings. At the end, the FDA said no. The deal was, if I’m not mistaken, over $5 million a year. We lost it,” he said.
The FDA has always been a roadblock not only in the sporting industry but also in the creative as well. Perhaps it is time the government did a holistic reform to this ever-pressing issue.
