The broadcast rights of the Ugandan Premier League has become an issue of contention between two African broadcasters as SuperSport and AZAM Television both claim to be the legal holders of the rights. AZAM Television has recently been confirmed as the new Ugandan Premier League (UPL) broadcast right holders with the name of the league also changing to the ‘Azam Premier League (APL)’, a clear indication of a title sponsorship deal. While specific details of the deal are unknown, it is said to be worth around $1.9 million.
Fire on the Mountain
However, despite the celebration of a new sponsor and broadcast rights holder by the league governing body, it appears a legal tussle over rightful ownership of the said rights looms as SuperSport International have described the decision of the Ugandan FA as a breach of a binding five year contract.
A statement by SuperSport International clearly conveyed their message of dissatisfaction with the actions of the Ugandan FA. It read thus:
“SuperSport International notes with grave concern media reports which indicate that broadcast rights to Ugandan club football have purportedly been sold to another broadcaster in violation of its rights. If such reports are true they constitute a material breach of legally binding agreements Super- Sport has entered into,” the statement read.
Signed by General Manager Charles Hamya, the statement went on to indicate that MultiChoice was unwilling to tolerate any contractual breaches thus suggesting that court proceeding might get underway if an amicable settlement isn’t reached shortly.
“MultiChoice will not tolerate any unilateral breach of legally binding agreements entered into and reserve our rights to exercise any and all remedies at our disposal to ensure that the agreements are enforced and our rights protected. It would be unfortunate if Ugandan sports in general suffers for being unable to showcase its abundant talent on the global stage because of the short-sighted mind-set of a few individuals who have failed to appreciate and respect the value of long term broadcast and sponsorship agreements. SuperSport, however, remains committed to supporting Ugandan sports and will continue working with likeminded stakeholders to promote its longterm development,” it read.
How it all began
Understanding the roots of conflicts is important to solving them and this one is no different. The cause for the breaches stems from a disoute between the Uganda FA and erstwhile league managers USLL. SuperSport had initially signed a deal with USLL in 2011 which was to run for five years. However, at the start of the 2012/2013 season the decision by the Uganda FA to withdraw USLL’s mandate to manage the league saw the emergence of two parallel leagues. SuperSport chose to suspend its broadcast pending the peaceful resolution of the dispute and all seemed set to return to normal when, in April 2014, the Ugandan FA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with USLL. However, after failing to reach a peaceful resolution of issues, the Uganda FA recently announced a termination of any existing relationship with USLL as FUFA official Moses Magogo said “as of today, our dealings with USLL are henceforth terminated.”
With SuperSport still having a year and a half left on the initial deal signed in 2011, the company clearly feel aggrieved with the singing on of a new broadcast deal as they consider it a breach of a contract signed with an Uganda FA backed USLL in 2011. The possibility of peaceful resolution of the issue hinges on the Ugandan FA’s handling of the situation as the three parties, the Ugandan FA, AZAM television and SuperSport International, all look set to be involved in legal proceedings.
The second round of the Ugandan league campaign is scheduled to get underway on February 17.
