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Kenya: How to Prepare for the World Cup
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The Nation (Nairobi)
OPINION
7 May 2008
Posted to the web 7 May 2008
Jason Nyantino
Nairobi
Having waited on the sidelines to showcase the world's premier sports extravaganza for decades on end, the continent finally has reason to smile when the world converges in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup in two years.
As Africa prepares to host the world, how can Kenya gain? Undoubtedly, there are multiple advantages that can prop up the country's efforts to revive its struggling economy.
Thousands of fans will be travelling to South Africa via several African cities. Nairobi and other major towns must prepare to cash in on this historic opportunity.
This good news comes at a time when our tourism industry is experiencing lean times. Tourism stakeholders had worked hard over the last several years to rebuild the industry.
This was after the lean times that characterised most of the 1990s, and the industry, which directly employs more than 250,000 people, earned the country Sh65.4 billion in 2007 alone.
But right now, thousands of hapless Kenyans employed by this sector have already been sent packing due to the biting effects of the post-poll chaos, and a new creative energy needs to be injected into turning the sector around.
Therefore, the newly created State corporation, Brand Kenya Board, couldn't have come at a better time. It is not only tasked with formulating policies that promote Kenya's national and foreign policies, it is also mandated to promote ties with the international community.
As the Board gets down to business, it should work with a view to reaping maximum benefits from the 2010 World Cup through an aggressive marketing blitzkrieg, portraying the country as an irresistible tourist destination, thus warding off competition from other countries.
The Ministry of Trade, and the captains of the hospitality industry, must also seek ways to educate Kenyan investors on the business opportunities that may go with an event of such a magnitude.
FOR INSTANCE, TEAMS WILL NEED training facilities in countries that share climatic conditions with South Africa. It will be foolhardy if we don't prepare to host such teams, considering that we possess the ability and talent to do this.
We must give our stadiums, hotels and general infrastructure a serious facelift. The Government should lead the way in laying sound strategies on how to fix the infrastructure inadequacies besetting.
By so doing, we will also be preparing to host the Africa Cup of Nations - an opportunity we let slip in 1996 through ineptitude.
The 2010 World Cup will also be a perfect opportunity to market our products and cultural wealth because the intended market will be in our backyard.
We always boast of producing the best tea and coffee in the world. Why can't we have Kenyan tea or coffee, for instance, as the official beverages of the 2010 World Cup and create a huge appetite for Kenya and its products?
These efforts can be aggressively channelled through popular media outlets like CNN, BBC, Sky News, DStv, and local media channels that have gone digital.
The national carrier, Kenya Airways, can offer attractive and competitive travel packages for soccer fans, players and officials who will want to stop in Kenya.
In a word, we all need to play a role in transforming our country into a magnet for all those headed to South Africa.
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Finally, our political leadership should immediately put an end to internecine bickering over useless issues and focus on positioning our country strategically on the global stage.
Kenya could easily become a dinosaur if our politics is always richly textured with hatred and antagonism.
Mr Nyantino is a TV producer with Media Development in Africa , a non-governmental organisation.
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