Bundesliga clubs could play pre-season friendlies in Ghana

Following the successes of two German Bundesliga clubs in holding pre-season camps in South Africa, Ghanaian fans could see their favourite Bundesliga clubs in the country soon.

The Bundesliga fever is steadily catching up with many football fans on the African continent, being fruits of the league´s partnership with StarTimes Media after the Chinese company signed a five-year contract as the official broadcaster in Africa.

Many Ghanaians are now able to watch the German Bundesliga from the comfort of their sitting rooms at affordable prices, and the relationship is set to get stronger with the football-crazy West African country described as "a center of interest" to host some top Bundesliga clubs for their pre-season camps.

In an exclusive interview with Atinka Media´s Saddick Adams in Frankfurt, where the Bundesliga Headquarters is situated, Henning Brinkmann, Bundesliga Sales Manager of Audiovisual Rights, Africa/Europe, explained that the Bundesliga is exploiting avenues to break new grounds on the African continent under the new Bundesliga International.

In this regard, sponsoring Bundesliga clubs to undergo their pre-season programmes in some selected African countries is one of the grand schemes in achieving the target.

"The clubs, Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg both have already played matches in South Africa but in general I will say with international friendlies, it's something that cannot be easily planned," Henning told Saddick Adams, who has joined some African journalists selected by StarTimes to tour the Bundesliga

"This is something which we really promote under our new company Bundesliga International. We are working very closely together with the clubs and we are actually also financing them when they decide to go to our international key markets of which we have a few in Africa and when they go, we have actually a rate card and we finance part of their travel.

"Ghana is definitely in the center of our interest and that also comes because of the big partnership that StarTimes have with the league.

"Ghana and the Bundesliga have worked over the last years and we just talked about Anthony Yeboah and Tony Baffoe so these guys shaped the Bundesliga and the roots are there; so definitely we are looking at the idea. Obviously, I cannot promise bringing a game to Ghana but when we decide, Ghana will certainly be one of the spots where this will take place"

"We cannot say when exactly this is happening but there are intense discussions with the clubs and we hope it happens sooner or later", he added