Sunderland are looking at other front-of-shirt sponsors after their planned £10 million (about GH¢153 million) deal with Visit Ghana stalled because the Ghanaian government has not formally approved it.
After months of talks, Sunderland reached an agreement with Visit Ghana, which was set to replace W88 as the club’s main shirt sponsor.
But the deal still needs formal approval from the Ghanaian government before it can go ahead. Sunderland also say talks with Ghanaian officials have slowed significantly, so they now assume the partnership might not happen.
“We have held positive discussions with Visit Ghana and the Government of Ghana over the past six months regarding a proposed front-of-shirt partnership,” a Sunderland spokesperson told the Sunderland Echo.
“Our ongoing discussions had resulted in an agreement being reached, with government representatives involved in the proposed partnership even announcing the deal publicly.
“Since that point, however, we have not received the formal approval from the Government of Ghana required to proceed, and communication and engagement has slowed significantly.”
Sunderland have started looking for other sponsors, but they have not completely ended talks with Visit Ghana.
“Given the lack of approval and clarity on the Government’s position, we are now working on the basis that the proposed partnership will not proceed,” the spokesperson added.
“We remain interested in a partnership with Ghana and hope to find an alternative route in the future.”
The deal was also linked to plans for a friendly match between Sunderland and Asante Kotoko, who won the 2026 Democracy Cup.
The £10 million deal was expected to give Ghana’s tourism brand more global exposure through Sunderland’s Premier League games and help build stronger sporting and business links between Ghana and the club.
Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin previously clarified that the private sector, rather than Parliament or the government, was driving the initiative.
“This is not being sponsored by Parliament. In fact, the private sector is the main sponsor. We are leading under my canopy to get this done,” Bagbin said.
He also said the Ghana Football Association, the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, and the Ministry of Finance had supported the initiative.
Since formal approval is still missing, Sunderland are preparing for the possibility that the Visit Ghana deal will not go through and are now looking at other front-of-shirt sponsorship options.
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