Hindsight: Did Oduro Sarfo lie about the StarTimes contract?

It is the last day of January. Oduro Sarfo, a member of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), confirmed StarTimes will return as the broadcaster for the Ghana Premier League (GPL).

He stated, “StarTimes will come in February. The GFA doesn’t have any contract with a media house right now.” He explained that since there were no TV rights, they engaged other companies temporarily. They even put matches on their GFA app, but that arrangement has ended.

Oduro Sarfo added, “If StarTimes comes on board in February, everything ceases. Nobody will have access to the rights anymore.”

As January ended, football fans hoped for resolution to broadcast issues.

However, eight weeks later, StarTimes has not returned. AFA Sports continues to produce and broadcast live matches.

So what happened? Did Oduro Sarfo lie? No.

JoySports confirmed there was an agreement between StarTimes and the GFA for a two-year deal. After this deal was agreed upon, the Executive Council was notified. This notification led to Oduro Sarfo's public announcement.

The agreement followed negotiations between both parties to revise previous contract terms. When the original contract was signed, the exchange rate was GH₵5 to $1.

Over time, however, the exchange rate increased significantly. In the final year of that contract, it reached GH₵17 to $1.

StarTimes sold decoders and subscriptions in cedi but had to pay GPL clubs in dollars. It became clear they would incur losses due to this disparity.

They likely did not anticipate having to pay more than three times what they originally agreed upon within four years.

In an act of goodwill, the GFA agreed to renegotiate payment terms for outstanding debts.

However, since January's pact, StarTimes has gone quiet about new terms. They have raised no issues or concerns; they simply stopped communicating.

The GFA is still waiting for confirmation from their Chinese partners regarding payments owed.

Now what? Eight match days have passed since the new deal should have started. The current season is only eight weeks from concluding.

Even if StarTimes pays its debts now, they prefer starting broadcasts next season instead of mid-season. The GFA is open to this arrangement.

In an ideal situation, this season’s GPL matches would be airing on StarTimes now.

Could the GFA have hired another broadcasting company while sorting things out with StarTimes? No; it was a financial issue.

The GFA could not afford another company that could provide similar coverage as StarTimes—four live matches every weekend in high quality.

iMax Media produces GPL matches for StarTimes and also handles AFCON Qualifiers in Ghana. However, iMax Media would see hiring them as betraying their partner during a dispute with StarTimes.

All these considerations are now behind them. If StarTimes honors their new agreement terms, GPL matches will be available again starting September 2025.