The Pro Vice Chancellor of the Ghana Communication Technology University, Prof. Robert Ebo Hinson has called for strategic efforts to include football as part of the Brand Ghana Agenda to boost the sports economy.

According to him, incorporating sports, particularly into the various marketing strategies of Ghana will boost the football economy and serve as an incentive to attract the needed foreign direct investments.

He made these remarks at the Joy Business/Joy Sports Thought Leadership event held at the Labadi Beach Hotel on the theme “Football Economy: Repurposing our approach to development, the Saudi Arabian experience”.

“Marketing at the local level, club level, and marketing to build the brand at the international level is something we should think about. From the Ghana Tourism Authority, GIPC, to the Ghana Exports Promotion Authority to Free Zones Board, all agencies marketing abroad should include sports to the Brand Ghana Agenda”, he mentioned.

“We do not have a concerted singular national brand proposition. So sports should be added to the proposition of the various marketing offerings, he explained.

He urged policymakers to sell the football anywhere, anytime to grow the football ecosystem.

“Anytime we get the chance to engage, we should be particular about selling the football brand”, he added.

Background

Saudi Arabia made a conscious effort to invest in sports. Clubs spent about $957 million to bring in ‘big name’ footballers to play in the Saudi Pro League. This exceeded the spending of four of Europe's 'big five' leagues with only England's Premier League clubs splurging more on transfers than those in the Middle Eastern nation.

It marks the first time since 2016 that another international league has outspent any of Europe's 'big five' during a football transfer window. 

Here in Africa, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, and Algeria, as well as some southern and eastern countries have made significant investments in their local leagues over the years. This has yielded results in the performance of local clubs in Africa and the world stage.