President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has personally asked Pan-African telecoms giant, MTN Group to support Ghana’s senior national football team, the Black Stars in their 2022 World Cup Campaign, slated for Qatar this November.
He made the appeal when he received the MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Tendai Mupita and his degelation at his hotel in New York, where he is attending the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting.
Ralph Mupita was with Ebenezer Twum Asante, Vice President of MTN Markets and Nompilo Morafo, Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer.
They visited the president to establish MTN’s commitment to Ghana and its willingness to continue supporting Ghana’s development, especially in the area of education.
President Akufo-Addo to advantage of their visit to lend his support to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which has already engaged MTN to become a headline sponsor for the Black Stars’ World Cup campaign.
MTN was a major sponsor of the 2010 World Cup tournament when it made its debut to Africa and was held in South Africa. Ghana was the only African country to have gotten the quarter finals on that occasion.
The President believes the current Black Stars squad has what it takes to do much better and make Ghana and Africa proud in Qatar.
Ralph Mupita assured the President that his team is already fully engaged in the sponsorship discussion with the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Ghana Football Association (GFA), adding that he expects a successful outcome.
The MTN executives also recalled being present at the stadium when Asamoah Gyan missed that crucial penalty in the quarter-final game against Uruguay. They expressed the hope that Ghana and the other four African countries will make the continent proud in Qatar this year.
