AZAM MEDIA , TANZANIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION SIGN 23BN/- LEAGUE DEAL

Azam Media Director, Tido Mhando (left), presents a 23bn/- dummy cheque to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Secretary General, Selestine Mwesigwa, which will see the former retain Mainland Premier League TV broadcasting rights for the next five years.

Azam Media and Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) have signed a bumper five-year deal worth 23bn/-, which will see the former retain Mainland Premier League TV broadcasting rights.

The new deal, signed yesterday, means the 16 clubs in the top flight league can celebrate a slight windfall, with each set to receive funding worth 126m/- annually, that will be paid in three instalments of 42m/-.

It is an improvement of 26 per cent from the previous deal, in which each club received 100m/- from the official league broadcaster. The contract was signed in Dar es Salaam by Azam Media, TFF and the Tanzania Premier League Board.

According to the contract, the final 42m/- instalment will be distributed based on each team’s position at the end of the league campaign, with top teams earning more. Speaking during the signing ceremony, TFF Secretary General, Selestine Mwesigwa said the aim to award more top teams sought to increase competitiveness in the league.

“Every team should make strong preparations and demonstrate competitiveness, they should vie for top spots, every team should be eager to win their matches so that they can benefit at the end of the day,” said Mwesigwa.

For his side, Azam Media’s Director, Tido Mhando said the company has continued to establish itself as a reliable pay television operator and was committed to providing quality live match broadcasts. Tido expressed Azam’s commitment to invest further in Tanzania football.

“We are delighted to have forged this partnership with TFF, our commitment is to invest in Tanzanian football and we’ll ensure it becomes one of the most attractive and competitive league,” said Tido. The top flight league will kick off in September with 16 teams vying for top honours.

They include defending champions Young Africans, Simba SC, Azam FC, Mtibwa Sugar, Tanzania Prisons, Mbeya City, Majimaji FC, Ndanda FC and Toto Africans.

Others are Kagera Sugar, Stand United, Mwadui FC, JKT Ruvu, as well as three newly promoted sides - African Lyon, Ruvu Shooting and Mbao FC. In 2013, Azam secured their first ever contract to broadcast live and recorded Premier League matches. The ever-growing Dar es Salaam-based broadcaster inked a three-year 5.5bn/- deal, which expired at the end of the 2015/16 season.

Under the three-year contract, all 14 top flight clubs were receiving 100m/- annually, while the TFF was entitled to 10 per cent of the total amount for the administration’s running costs. By then, the increase was somewhat a huge boost to the 14 clubs, which by that time were receiving income of less than 50m/- per season.

Daily News