KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): Confirming that it is no longer a sponsor of the Malaysian Football League LLP (MFL) from 2019 onwards, Telekom Malaysia [TM] today denied MFL’s claim that it had failed to meet its obligations in the contract between the two parties.

MFL announced last Friday that it is ending the sponsorship contract with TM worth RM480 million after reaching a unanimous decision at a board meeting in Johor Bahru.

TM’s Unifi brand was signed in February last year as the title sponsor for the Super League and Malaysia Cup for an eight-year partnership deal worth RM480mil until 2025.

MFL accused TM of failing to meet its RM60 million annual sponsorship obligation before the M-League kicked off on Feb 1 despite several reminders.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, TM denied the charge and instead said that both sides were unable to mutually agree on several fundamental commercial terms necessary for the intended collaboration.

“Despite several extensions of the agreed deadline to sign the definitive agreement, both parties were unable to arrive at an understanding. In view of this, on Nov 1, 2018, TM duly notified MFL in writing that the partnership had come to an end,” it added.

Nonetheless, TM expressed the group’s desire to remain supportive of Malaysian sports and athletes.

Shares of TM rose four sen or 1.26% to RM3.22, giving it a market capitalisation of RM12.10 billion. Year-to-date, the counter has risen 21.05%.