Visualize the Uganda Cranes as a beautiful metropolitan young lady adored by millions for the amazing exquisiteness but again, loathed in equal measure out of sheer malice or consequentially, due to her known bad traits.
Day in, day out this young lady wins over a heart or two but breaks at the same ratio.
All of a sudden, two filthy-rich moguls table the best proposals in the midst of the lady for marriage and your guess is as good as mine – she consents with a bold smile and a warm embrace.
The ‘mild healthy tag of war’ between Uganda Cranes sponsors Airtel Uganda and Uganda Breweries Limited for the country wide regional campaign acted to prove the strength of the national football team brand.
For a long period, both Airtel Uganda and Nile Breweries limited have negotiated over the Uganda Cranes country wide tours previously owned by Nile Breweries under the code name, Cranes Na-Mutima.
Deal done and sealed: L-R – FUFA Marketing director, Esther Musoke, Coach Micho, Noella Byuma (Airtel head of branding, assets and properies) with Nile Breweries’ marketing and sponsorship guru, Isaac Ssekasi
After settling for ‘conducive’ respective terms, each of the party smiled ear-to-ear and agreed to set the project running with a joint press conference held at the home of football in Uganda at Mengo in Kampala.
Almost immediately, the campaign returns with the Bunyoro Kitara regional tour – to start from where it had ended last year in Gulu with the Northern region.
Of course, witnessing the tag of war in fighting for the Uganda Cranes between the two companies cast an inner beaming ‘smile’ to heart.
The national football team, by far, remains a big entity in Uganda’s sporting angles.
Personally, i witnessed thousands of Uganda Cranes supporters in Gulu than elsewhere the regional tours were staged.
The massive crowd at Pece stadium in Gulu during the Northern Uganda regional tour in 2014
Companies will for obvious reasons forever cherish in visibility and henceforth would wish to associate with success at whatever cost.
As the Cranes re-start the regional tours with the Bunyoro-Kitara trip, all signs indicate the Boma stadium will ‘sell out’ just like the case was in Mbarara, Soroti and overwhelmingly at the Pece stadium in Gulu.
Fast forward, the onus still remains upon the team’s technical wing to search and polish discovered new talents to ensure continuity.
For my brothers at Mengo, there is need to realize and appreciate the unique value for the beautiful game and the immeasurable adoration the Uganda Cranes team deserves.
This will swiftly call for all the urgency and necessary steps needed to further polish up the grass root abundant talents as a means of ensuring a bumper continuous harvest in the tomorrow years.
Kudos Airtel Uganda, Nile Breweries limited – ‘the lovely bird’ (Uganda Cranes) surely deserves you – not only for a one night stand but for eternity.
