UPL secure Shs204m Centenary Bank deal - Uganda Premier League - Official Website

The Uganda Premier League (UPL) has secured a Shs204m partnership with Centenary Bank, a deal its leadership believes signals growing corporate confidence in the competition as it pursues a more sustainable commercial model. The agreement, unveiled at Mapeera House in Kampala on Monday, takes immediate effect and makes Centenary Bank the league's official banking partner.

Uganda Premier League Board Chairman Dr. Arinaitwe Rugyendo and Centenary Bank Managing Director Mr.

Godfrey Byekwaso at the signing ceremony. It provides Shs100m for league operations, another Shs100m for media activities and an additional Shs4m towards cash prizes.

The bank's Gonza Pay platform will also power digital ticketing at league matches. For UPL chief executive officer Bernard Bainamani, however, the significance of the agreement goes beyond its financial value.

Bernard Bainamani, the UPL CEO "I personally don't look at the figures in the contract. It's the confidence the sponsors have shown by investing their money.

This is what we have to protect jealously," Bainamani said. The partnership comes as the UPL Board seeks to widen its revenue streams beyond its existing relationship with broadcast partner StarTimes, with ambitions to attract more companies, particularly from the brewing and telecommunications sectors.

Bainamani acknowledged that the league's history of institutional disputes and negative publicity had made corporate investment difficult, but said the focus was now shifting towards commercialisation. "It has actually taken us so long to get partners because of the structures we were operating in," he said.

"But the biggest setback has been the negative stories around the Uganda Premier League. This has stalled us a lot in many spheres.

There have been many wars and many corporate partners don't want to associate themselves with sports associations that are at war. But the wars have now ceased, and the next step in our strategy is to commercialise the sport while creating awareness among the fans and clubs to take the sport as a commercial product rather than a leisure investment."