RTU grateful to Wienco

THE Management of Real Tamale United (RTU) has expressed gratitude to Wienco (GH) Ltd for their financial, material and moral support to the club over the past 10 years.

In a statement released in Tamale, RTU said Wienco’s support has helped the sustain of the club in the elite division and the development and promotion of soccer in the Northern Region.

Apart from supporting RTU, the company has assisted the Juvenile Association to organise their league by providing prizes and organisational expenses. Wienco began to assist RTU in the early 1990s when the club nearly went into relegation due to financial difficulties.

At the time, the chairman of the club , Alhaji Adam Ibrahim approached the company Director of Wienco (GH) Ltd Mr H. J. M. Wientjes for assistance, which the company obliged. It was at the beginning of the 1996-97 league season that the two parties entered into an agreement. The contents of the agreement are that Wienco would assist RTU financially, materially and morally while RTU equipment bore Wienco logo.

In the initial stage, RTU received ¢10million and equipment worth ¢90 million from Wienco. The equipment were made up of 15 sets of jerseys, 60- kit bags, 90 track suits, 70 ‘T’ shirts, caps, training kits, 50 pairs of boots, shin guards etc... The amount of ¢10 million which was in the initial agreement signed between the company and the RTU Board of Directors was to cater for players and staff salaries, winning bonuses, matches expenses, etc.

This amount was subject to amendment and was increased to ¢15 million monthly, then to ¢25million,. ¢30million and in the 2001-2002 league has been raised to ¢35million cash. Apart from the monthly budget RTU benefit from the sponsors, the players receive special bonuses from Wienco for exceptional performances.

For instance when RTU beat Hearts, Wienco gave the players an amount of ¢12 million for being the first team to break the unbeaten record of the champion club since the 2001-2002 league season began.

Apart from the above, Wienco assists players individually whenever the need arises. They assist players put up their own buildings , organise social activities such as weddings, outdoorings, and funerals.

The contract is renewable after every five years and the end of this year’s season is the time for the two parties to meet for the big event which is believed to be positive on the part of RTU since both the club and its partner are adhering to their parts of the agreement.

The club and for that matter the people of the North are grateful to the chairman of the pride of the North in the person of Alhaji Adam Ibrahim who is the former minister of Agric and former MP for Choggu/Tishigu for his initiative to get Wienco on board.

Wienco does not only support RTU but soccer in the North in particular and Ghana in general. The company assists the Tamale Municipal Juvenile league from time to time and has sponsored journalists to cover international soccer tournaments like the World Cup, and the African Cup of Nations. Wienco on the other hand, benefits from RTU through the Tax relief the Government has introduced through an appeal from RTU.

This came into being two months ago with the intervention of the ministry of Youth and Sports. The vice chairman of RTU, Alhaji Munkaila appealed to other companies to sponsore clubs in Ghana since they will gain publicity in the media.

He also suggested that the Government should recognise the contribution of companies like Wienco through a more liberal tax rebate regime. He also called on the SWAG to remember the company for its next annual awards night for its contribution to sports in the north and Ghana in general. Wienco has helped in the sustainability of RTU and the dev elopment of soccer talents like Abu Iddrisu, Mohammed Gargo, Mohammed Hamza, Asamoah and the likes.

Wienco has planned to put up a 15,000 capacity stadium for RTU. The decision which was taken in the year 2000 is receiving attention from the company’s mother partners abroad.

Feasibility studies have been carried out and the site for the construction has already been acquired. The RTU spokesman therefore appealed to philanthropists organisations and companies to assist in the development of sports in the country since Government alone cannot do it.

Since it is the policy of the government to participate in sports development and promotion, the Ministry of Youth and Sports is called upon to attach Premier, First and if possible lower division to well to do companies and District Assemblies so that the clubs can be well catered for. In this way he believes Ghana would go places.