Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has clarified that Parliament is not sponsoring the proposed “Visit Ghana” shirt partnership with Sunderland, saying the initiative is being led and funded by the private sector.

Mr Bagbin made the clarification when he first announced the proposed partnership in Parliament in August.

He said discussions with the English Premier League club were at an advanced stage, but stopped short of announcing that an agreement had been concluded or disclosing the value of the proposed deal.

“We are entering a formal engagement with them to put Visit Ghana on their jerseys and all paraphernalia. We have gone far with the discussions, and they are showing interest,” he said.

Mr Bagbin was explicit about the source of funding for the initiative.

“This is not being sponsored by Parliament. In fact, the main sponsor is from the private sector. We are leading under my canopy to get this done,” he said.

His comments come amid reports that the proposed Sunderland partnership is worth about £10 million a year, with some reports suggesting that the amount would be paid from public funds.

However, Mr Bagbin did not announce any such figure when he disclosed the discussions to Parliament.

He also acknowledged the involvement of the Ghana Football Association, the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the Ministry of Finance, but described their role as supporting the initiative.

The reported £10 million figure appears to have originated from an estimate of the potential value of the partnership rather than an officially disclosed contract amount.

Former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness suggested in August that the partnership could be worth around £10 million. His comments were an estimate and did not confirm an agreed fee.

Recent reports have also claimed that the partnership has been concluded and that “Visit Ghana” will become Sunderland’s main shirt sponsor.

Neither Sunderland nor the Ghanaian authorities, however, have officially confirmed the reported £10 million annual feeor that the Ghanaian government will finance the partnership.

What has been established from Mr Bagbin’s announcement is that a private sector-led initiative was pursuing a front-of-shirt partnership with Sunderland to promote Ghana as a tourism destination.

Therefore, the claim that the Ghanaian government is committing £10 million a year in public funds to the proposed sponsorship is not supported by the information publicly disclosed by the Speaker.