Tanzanian football club Young Africans Sports Club (YANGA SC) issued a clarification after its main sponsor accused the team of breach of contract.
YANGA has the popular betting site SportPesa as the club's main sponsor which accused the Tanzanian club of breach of contract for launching alternative jerseys for the CAF Confederations Cup with the logo of another sponsor "Haier".
In the club statement issued on Friday, February 3, the club emphasised its stance on having the betting company as the main sponsor.
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However, it disclosed that the betting company’s right to occupy the front part of the jersey was not absolute as claimed.
“Their rights are limited to the competition's requirements, rules, and guidelines that the club is participating in. The Club is bound by TFF, CAF and FIFA regulations and guidelines which supersede all private arrangements entered by the Club and/or third parties, SportPesa inclusive,’ the statement read in part.
The club explained that CAF`s communique regarding categories of sponsors who are not permitted to be worn by participating teams in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage explicitly bars betting companies from marketing or advertising their brands in the CAF Champions League and CAFCC competitions effective from the group stage.
It was noted that YANGA informed the betting company in writing about "Haier" as an alternative brand for CAFCC matches only.
YANGA added that on January 23, 2023, SportPesa requested the Club to submit to CAF "SPScore(dot)com", an alternative brand that stands for "SportPesa Score" but it was rejected by CAF.
This led to YANGA proceeding with "Haier" following the fact that the contract did not restrict the club from doing so in situations where it could not use its main sponsor`s brand.
“To this end, we submit that Young Africans is not in breach of the contract,” the statement read.
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