By Juma Ali
Uganda Premier League record holders SC Villa have secured a lucrative sponsorship with a Chinese Tyre manufacturing company, Linglong Tires.
Linglong Tires has thus become the main sponsors for the club, in a partnership that will run for the next five years.
The deal, which is worth $750,000 (about Shs 2.7bn), and will amount to $150,000 (about Shs 543 million) per year, was made official on Thursday at the City Oil Kamwokya Gardens.
“It’s my honour to stand here and have this chance for this event,” started Cathy Kao, head of International Business Linglong Tire, representing President Wang Feng.
“Linglong has had a corporate friendship with Villa for more than 15 years. The two are not joined for business relations only, we are more than friends, we are family.”
“Wang and Omar have a good relationship. In the future, we want to work hand in hand, coporate with each other and bring good luck for the two parties. Our President Wang also loves Sports very much,” she revealed.
“We also know SC Villa has a big potential and hope two parties can bring good luck to each other. Both will work together and achieve better success in the future.”
While part of the money will be directed towards running team business especially staff salaries, another chunk will go towards construction of a sports complex (stadium).
The sums directed towards the construction of the stadium will be in addition to the Shs. 3bn the club received from the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) as compensation for the encroaching on the Villa Park facility in Nsambya.
“I stand here with a heart of gratitude and appreciation, we gathered here not only to celebrate the spirit of sportsmanship but also to acknowledge the support and encouragement we have received from our esteemed sponsors Linglong,” said Villa Members’ Trust Chairman Gerald Ssendawula said.
“On behalf of entire Villa fraternity, I extend our sincerest thanks to Linglong for their commitment to our club that we will play a vital role in our success and growth for the coming years.
About Linglong Tire
Linglong Tire, full name Shandong Linglong Company Limited is a Chinese tire manufacturing enterprise which has been among the top 20 global tire producers for the past 20 years.
The company was founded in 1975 as Zhaoyuan Tire Manufacturing and Repairing Plant, and it’s under the leadership of Chinese native, Wang Xicheng.
It has had sponsorship partnerships with German side Wolfsburg, Italy’s Juventus and is currently the main sponsor for the Serbian SuperLiga, which is the country’s topflight league.
