Ghana Premier League sponsor, betPawa, has announced a huge increase to the novelty Locker Room Bonus (LRB), the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has announced.
The initiative which directly benefit players by giving them a cash payment for every match they win, has been more than doubled from GH¢150 last season to GH¢400.
The adjustment means players in the top tier are set to benefit more this season.
“The increment is very laudable. Some clubs do not even pay what betPawa is going to pay, we need to commend betPawa,” said Solomon Opoku, a former player of Ghanaian teams Ashgold, Aduana FC and Karela United.
Opoku also played for Abia Warriors (Nigeria), St. Georgia (Ethiopia) and Borac Cacak in Serbia.
“If what I saw last season is anything to go by, then I must say this increase will not only help the players financially, but also boost the level of competition among them since they will push to make it to the Match day squad, week in and week out,” he added.
BetPawa said the Locker Room Bonus was initiated last year as a direct benefit to the players in order to motivate them.
“The LRB is paid to all interested players that make the squad list per match in Ghana’s top-tier league. The money is paid directly to their mobile wallets immediately after winning a match and before they leave the stadium, hence the term Locker Room Bonus.”
“We all know the challenges we face as administrators of this sport, our biggest being finance, so getting betPawa to come in at this juncture and increase the bonus structure to almost a monumental 170% increment is huge, and they must be commended on all fronts,” said Eric Alagidede – General Manager of Nsoatreman FC.
BetPawa’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ntoudi Mouyelo, said the LRB seeks to inspire hard work, create healthy competition, and celebrate winners.
“The idea is that players benefit directly from betPawa’s association with sporting organisations across the continent,” said Mouyelo.
The betPawa Locker Room Bonus is currently also being run in betPawa-affiliated sports leagues in Rwanda and Uganda. However, Mouyelo added that the system used to distribute the bonus is open to like-minded leagues and corporates that want to further motivate players.
“We can partner with other sponsors to roll this out in other African countries and leagues so that we elevate sports in our continent by supporting our sportsmen and sportswomen through these direct benefits,” he said. –GFA
