Salone Premier League signs MOU with AYV Radio
Newly established radio station, AYV Radio 88.4 FM, has secured the right to live commentary of all Sierra Leone Premier League matches. (Director AYV Radio, Mrs. Fatmata Jalloh, signing MOU)
According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed under the watchful eyes of sports journalists on Tuesday morning 20th March, 2012, at the Football Academy between the Premier League Board (PLB) and AYV Radio, the latter shall provide the sum of Le10 Million (Ten Million Leones) to the cash strapped PLB in various installments, to be agreed by both parties, over the period of the two-leg football league.
Managing Director of AYV Group of Companies, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, said they decided to partner with the PLB to promote the company’s core policy of developing the potential of young people in all walks of life.
“At AYV, young people are at the heart of everything we do,” said Nasralla. “One area that attracts a large percentage of our youths is sports, specifically football. Football is very popular among our young people and the local Premier League directly engages more than 500 youths who are seeking to enhance their careers as professional footballers, and in the end bring glory to Sierra Leone. So we are very proud to be part of this national drive.”
Furthermore, Nasralla cautioned that AYV’s decision to involve with the local league was not motivated by any desire for commercial gain, as would have been the case with lucrative football leagues in Europe, but merely a contribution to promote the profile of the league to attract more well-meaning Sierra Leoneans and business houses.
“We are aware of the financial constraints and other difficulties facing the PLB in ensuring the continuity of the league, but we hope this partnership will help to bring more sponsors on board and together we can build the capacity of our young people for a better Sierra Leone,” said Nasralla, who incidentally is also the Marketing and PR person for the PLB.
The Chairman of the PLB, Mr. Victor Lewis, hailed AYV for initiating the partnership and for their enthusiasm to promote young people. He said no amount was small as long as is it was a genuine support to the league.
“The PLB is spending monies every week through subventions to participating teams, match officials and others. Up till now, we are chasing potential sponsors. Nobody or company has come forward to support the league financially. So we need money; and we appreciate AYV for the new partnership, which we believe will lead to more opportunities as the company finds its footing in the business sector,” said Mr. Lewis.
PLB Chairman Mr. Victor Lewis hails AYV, while MD Nasralla looks on
The Director of AYV Radio, Mrs. Fatmata Jalloh, officially signed the MOU on behalf of AYV, in the presence of Head of Corporate Affairs AYV, Mr. Mucktar Tejan Cole while Mr. Lewis signed on behalf of PLB in the presence of a staff of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA).
Before signing the document, Mrs. Jalloh recalled when she was living around Ascension Town at a time that Premier League fixtures drew lots and lots of crowd to the National Stadium. She said AYV Radio, in partnership with the PLB, would aspire to bring those days back and promote the aspirations of the country’s footballers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mucktar Tejan Cole believed that AYV was coming in at the right time, when the PLB was struggling and that meant a lot.
“Most people want to associate with success but do not want to struggle to achieve that success. We want to struggle with the PLB and we will be proud to enjoy in the time of glory,” said Mr. Tejan Cole.
Already, though it has not yet officially commenced full operations, AYV radio has started doing live commentaries of Premier League matches at the National Stadium even before the MOU was signed. Matches that have enjoyed live commentary by AYV included East End Lions FC vs Freetown City FC (0-0); Ports Authority FC vs Blackpool FC (0-0); FC Johansen vs Gem Stars FC (0-0); Edwards FC vs Diamond Stars FC (2-1) and the Milo Africa Under-13 Youth Championship final between St. Anthony Boys and Ahmadiyya Primary School (2-0) at the National Stadium.
AYV is also expected to do live commentary for the upcoming fixture between FC Johansen and Diamond Stars FC in Kono on Friday.
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