Ghana FA reach agreement with clubs over recording of matches, Kotoko to use VEO

Published on: 24 November 2020
Ghana FA reach agreement with clubs over recording of matches, Kotoko to use VEO
Kotoko signed an agreement with VEO

The Ghana FA has reached an agreement with clubs in the top-flight to record matches they are involved in but must be done according practice in the football industry, clearing the path for Kotoko to use VEO.

The agreement was reached on Monday when CEOs of the clubs in the Ghanaian top-flight met with the leadership of the federation over the raging issue that stretched the relationship between Kotoko and the GFA.

But an amicable deal was reached when the GFA spelt out the laid down conditions for teams recording their matches while protecting the rights of television rights holders StarTimes.

The only sticking point has been with the positioning of cameras for clubs which has been refered to the Executive Council for further consultation.

It was also agreed that in future before clubs reach agreements with companies like VEO to film their matches for technical reasons they must consult the GFA to reach a consensus to avoid such future misundertanding.

That is because of clubs start using such equipment during such matches and need access to the pitch, the main camera for the company producing the matches for television could be disrupted as well as the technical area for the two coaches during a match.

Like it is done in the advanced leagues and top competitions in the world, teams playing their matches whether home or away are allowed to film their matches.

The filming is allowed for only internal use for the club for tactical purposes to help them review their performances and prepare for their next opponents.

But there have been fears that before such laiddown rules are spelt out to the clubs, some could stream their matches on the internet while others could go into agreements with other television stations to show such matches.

That would be a violation of the rights of Chinese broadcasting giants who have invested millions of dollars not only the acquisition of the rights but also to produce the matches in HD which is extremely expensive.

To attract companies to come on board to sponsor Ghana football, the GFA must be seen to be protecting the rights of exisiting sponsors to help retain them while attracting new commercial partners - it was explained during the meeting.

With the clubs agreeing to these widely known international football policies, the conditions for the filming of their matches was explained to them.

Like it is done globally, clubs will be allowed to film from designated television broadcasting areas at the venue and not on the pitch as it happened when Kotoko unfulred its VEO on the pitch which led to the misunderstanding.

It was also agreed that such filming would not be used for other purposes apart from which it has been designed to be used.

The Ghana Premier League has been chasing sponsorships in these Convid-19 times in great difficulty and failure to protect the rights of existing sponsors could drive them away while dissuading potential sponsors from coming on board.

Veo is a 180° camera with two 4K lenses recording with 30 frames per second. The camera has storage enough for several matches and a powerful battery. Still, it weighs less than 1 kilogram making it portable for both home and away games.

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