Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) and pay TV company StarTimes have on Thursday entered into a partnership to broadcast games in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League games, starting with the 2022/23 season that gets underway on Friday, 30th September.
Details of the new partnership were announced by FUFA President Hon. Magogo Moses Hassim and StarTimes Uganda Vice President, Aldrine Nsubuga in a press briefing held at FUFA Complex.
FUFA Super League Board Vice Chairman, David Sserebe was also present during the function.
The FUFA President indicated this is a giant step in the development of domestic competitions in Uganda.
“It is another momentous milestone for us as football in this country, knowing where we are coming from, when we get such giant leaps, we believe that our dreams and desires will be achieved. Our vision is to be the number one footballing nation in Africa on and off the pitch but you cannot achieve this, without strong competitions and competitions are made with money. Football money comes from television and without it you cannot generate enough money for you to ably compete,” he started before adding, “As a Federation we decided to take a journey of trying to look for the money for football. It has been proven all over the world that football money majorly comes from television. Until you make corporations with television, that is how you can add value to the game.”
The FUFA President also indicated that going forward, FUFA TV will broadcast games across the three professional leagues that include the StarTimes Uganda Premier League, StarTimes FUFA Big League and the FUFA Women Super League.
“We have also as FUFA taken strategy to have the StarTimes Uganda Premier League, StarTimes FUFA Big League and the FUFA Women Super League as the professional Leagues. And for us to be able to help these clubs get more revenue, we need to put them on TV. He added.
StarTimes Uganda Vice President, Aldrine Nsubuga expressed delight in the new partnership indicating the future is bright for the game of football with increased broadcast of domestic competitions.
“I am pleased to announce that StarTimes and FUFA have gone into a partnership to broadcast at least 60 games per season on FUFA TV for the six years. This creates an opportunity to have more game on TV. This is just a continuation of the journey that we started four year ago from scratch but we are confident that the future is bright.” He said.
Nsubuga confirmed that starting Friday, 30th September, FUFA TV will go live on StarTimes both on the aerial and satellite platforms.
“Friday this Friday, FUFA TV will be live on StarTimes, Channel 252 on aerial platforms and 239 on satellite. StarTimes Uganda Premier League games will exclusively air on these channels. FUFA TV is still available on other platforms but the games will only show on StarTimes.” He added.
FUFA President appealed to the fans to support Ugandan football by buying decoders and subscribing because that is one of the ways clubs will be able to generate income.
“I would like to appeal the fans of football that we need to pay for football and this is through subscription. When you pay to watch television, the money eventually gets to the clubs and in the long run, they can be self-reliant.”
The 2022/23 StarTimes Uganda Premier League starts on Friday with defending Champions Vipers SC hosting Soltilo Bright Stars FC at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende.
