Mark Muhumuza

Sponsorship in sports is a major source of revenue for the various sports disciplines. In Uganda sports sponsorship in disciplines like rugby and golf has increased while it has dropped in football, the most popular game.

Football

The Uganda Super League currently has no sponsor after the GTV the sponsors went into administration two years ago. The league has since failed to secure a sponsor.
 
Unlike in Kenya and Tanzania where there clubs like Tusker and Azam, have sponsors, Uganda’s case is different as clubs run on their own sources of funding.

The corporate companies seem to shy away from these clubs partially because of the poor management structures in the clubs but also because there doesn’t seem to be evidence of return on sponsorship.

uganda telecom had ventured into football by sponsoring SC Villa. The Ugandan League also lost long term sponsors Nile Special Lager after poor management forced them out. Kampala City Council, Uganda Revenue Authority, Police and Simba all state enterprises. Other clubs owned by companies or organisations are Fire Masters, CRO, Kinyara Sugar and Iganga Town council. It is apparent that the problem here is the amount of money pumped in.

Rugby

Rugby has become the sport where sponsorship is  growing but this is only in the top flight known as the “super eight.”  The MTN Heathens and UTL Kobs are the most popular clubs in the country at the moment. Although they seem like huge sponsorship packages, the players don’t earn a lot and the companies and clubs don’t disclose how much money comes in.

This raises suspicion that not much is spent since corporates would be proud to mention big figures and players would not have reason to complain.  The rugby league is sponsored by  Guinness but still the figures are kept secret, a strange phenomenon. When East African Business Week contacted the corporate companies, only uganda telecom revealed that is spends over  Shs1.5billion (US$750,000) on sports annually. uganda telecoms sponsors the Uganda Golf Championships, Kobs in Rugby, Motorsport and the Uganda Sports Press Association.
 
Basketball

Basketball, a sport gaining popularity in Uganda has MTN as its sponsor, but the figures are kept secret. However, with the organisation looking shaky, one can judge that not much is entering the coffers. Mountain Dew and D-Mark Mobile are the only club sponsors in basketball and are believed to have signed Ushs70m ($3,500) and Ushs90m ($4500) with Falcons and Power basketball clubs respectively.

But the questions raised in the sponsorship deals are that why players still complain they are not being paid?

Coca-Cola sponsors the Cricket Schools League, the School’s Basketball League, Secondary Schools Football and has been involved in the basketball league.
 
Motorsport

No figures are mentioned concerning sponsorship. Apart from the annual KCB rally and the popular Total Pearl of Africa Rally, it is hard to determine how much the sport attracts in sponsorship yet most of the rally cars are branded. In motorsport, individuals spend their own money.
 
Nevertheless, there have been sponsorship packages that have raised the bar like the Shs900m ($450,000) MTN used to sponsor the Uganda Cranes in their whole previous World Cup and African Cup qualification campaign.
 
Sport in Uganda has also failed to build a profile of sports personalities who can be used to build a brand of a company. Gillette has used Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Thiery Henry to promote their products, but in Uganda the corporate companies opt for radio presenters and models. The sports personalities have increasingly been neglected.
 
Ugandan sports has the potential to attract sponsorship but poor management structures and limited appeal from the fans has kept sponsors away.
 
The sponsors on the other hand have also taken advantage of the various packages they offer and denied sport proper sponsorship. Sponsors also want to benefit and if the appeal for a particular sport is low then they will keep away.

This could explain why no companies sponsor the league-it is because of empty stadia.
 
However, in other coun tries there is sponsorship even amid empty stadia.