Right to Dream lands US$1.25m Tullow sponsorship

Tullow Oil, operator of the Jubilee field, has announced a three-year sponsorship package for Eastern Region-based football academy Right to Dream.

According to the oil company, the package includes an annual funding of US$250,000 for at least three years -- and up to five years -- as well as further contributions toward the academy’s infrastructural development.

“The launch of the partnership is a landmark moment for Tullow as the company seeks to extend and enhance its agenda for creating shared prosperity in Ghana,” General Manager Charles Darko told the B&FT after the deal was announced.

“Tullow was attracted to Right to Dream’s vision because it is not simply a football academy. It has a strong focus on character and educational development, which prepare the young ones for a holistic future and wider opportunities beyond football.”

Right to Dream, Mr. Darko said, has succeeded in developing a model that’s delivering results on the football pitch, with a significant number of graduates going on to play football at professional level.

The academy has so far been able to produce at least 17 graduates who have had stints with the various national football teams including the Black Stars. Notable among such graduates is included Black Stars’ striker Abdul Majeed Warris and David Accam.

The partnership, Tullow said, is in line with its vision of varied capacity building to enhance the quality of life not just of individuals, but their dependants and communities.

“Our ambition is to ensure that people, particularly in the areas of our operation, benefit from our activities…We see development of sports as a key part of helping to create shared responsibility in countries where we operate. In Africa, there’s only one sport that unites the continent like no other: football,” Mr. Darko said.

Tom Vernon, founder of the academy, said the partnership will enable it to expand and enhance its activities, including nationwide recruitment as well as implement some of its projects within selected schools across the country.

“Tullow’s recognition of our contribution and their ambition to join us in making a bigger and bolder contribution moving forward will have a great impact on the lives of many young Ghanaians and, hopefully, in the long-term, fortunes of the national football teams.”

The academy, established in 1999 by Mr. Vernon, a UK social entrepreneur, has awarded five-year scholarships to over 100 children to study there. The fully-residential school near Akosombo combines academic character and talent development, and recently opened the first girls’ residential football academy in Africa.

By Richard Annerquaye Abbey | B&FT Online | Ghana