THE Vodafone Premier League was officially launched on Thursday evening at the Fiji Football Association headquarters in Vatuwaqa, Suva with sponsors Vodafone.
Just last week, co-sponsors of the Premier League, CJ Patel pulled out saying the decision was a business one.
Vodafone Fiji agreed to be the sole sponsor of the tournament and had to put up the cash that CJ Patel used to. The mobile service provider gave $160,000 in total for the tournament that will run for at least 14 weeks.
Vodafone Fiji chief marketing officer Rajnesh Prasad said their commitment to football was reflected by the continuous support to Fiji FA.
“We are once again delighted to extend our gesture of support as we bring on board sponsorship for this year’s league,” Prasad said.
“With this sponsorship, we continue with the passion to build a solid foundation for football and uplift the sport in the country.”
Fiji FA chief executive Bob Kumar said the league was in its 39th year and tough competition was expected as there were two spots available for teams from Fiji to qualify to the Oceania Champions League.
The Vodafone Premier League starts today with Dreketi taking on Labasa at 1.30pm at Subrail Park while at 3pm Ba hosts Lautoka at Govind Park.
Tomorrow at 3pm Suva takes on Rewa at Ratu Cakobau Park while Nadi faces Nadroga at Prince Charles Park.
