While some sponsors are finding their way out from committing to football teams following the suspension of the M-League due to Covid-19, a telecommunication company is eager to fulfill its commitment this year.
redONE Network group chief executive officer Farid Yunus, who was on the talkshow The RSS with HD – Extended yesterday, said the teams will still need to pay the salaries of their players and staff and thus their “seven-figure” monetary sponsorship remains.
The telco is the title sponsor for Terengganu FC and PDRM FA for the 2020 season.
“It’s not like I can ask for the season’s money back just because the season has been cancelled or postponed right?
“They (the teams) still need to pay the players so if the season doesn’t resume, I guess it’s money that we’ll never recover or get any sort of return of investment from. But that’s okay, we’ve accepted that,” added Farid.
He said redONE Network will not renegotiate terms with the two teams as “it’s not their fault”.
“And it’s not like I can say ‘Hey, can you roll over this cash to next year when the season resumes’ it’s because they still have costs (to bear) this year.”
Farid, however, felt it was fair for other sponsors who may want to roll over the sponsorship money to next season.
“It’s a fair argument to make … I don’t know … maybe we’re just too nice.”
In fact, redONE Network intends to continue its sponsorship deals with the east coast team and the police outfit next year.
“We don’t believe in touch and go. When we sponsor a team, we believe in two or three years (commitment).”
“Don’t tell Terengganu or PDRM, but yeah, we will probably be with them next year as well,” he said in jest.
Farid, who was re-elected as president of the Squash Racquets Association of Selangor earlier this year, also spoke about the company’s continued commitment to the sport at the grassroots and his plans for the next two years.
The RSS with HD – Extended, aired on YouTube (The RSS) every Wednesday at 4pm, is hosted by actor and comedian Rashid Salleh who is joined by Twentytwo13 editor Haresh Deol.
The talk show is produced by Toucan Media and Professional Storytellers with Amnig as the official apparel sponsor.
