Tshimologo Boitumelo
28 November 2008
column
I have thoroughly savoured the merry jaunt on which the new sponsorship by be Mobile has taken us.
It will have been very surprising had be Mobile not opted to enter the football fray. All over the world, cellphone companies are major sponsors of football. If you are a football person you would know better: Zain, Vodafone, Telcom, MTN, Vodacom, Orange, I-tell, Orascom, Neotel, Cell-C, Call-Right. The list is endless.
Football provides a platform on which the companies can execute their 'brilliant' ideas that could lead to a good bottom-line.
Splashing P15 million is a positive development from be Mobile. We have been looking for this kind of financial support for a long time. Depending on what type of sponsorship activation programme is put in place by be Mobile, there should be massive returns on the investment. Perhaps the company will come up with a well- structured sponsorship activation plan that will encapsulate all the different aspects of marketing - with the sole aim of generating some benefits.
Sponsorship is well and good when received. But it can always be a challenge of huge proportions when the impact and rewards are measured and nothing positive is realised.
Shareholders at be Mobile would never forgive anyone who made the decision on the sponsorship without guarantees of financial success. But success is not cast in stone. It is like confidence. It could be a very fickle mistress. And herein lies the rub. How much understanding is there among our clubs and administrators on issues of sponsorship? Do they know their obligations to Be Mobile? What structures have clubs and the Premier League put in place to deliver on their part of the bargain? The success of this massive programme will only be measured on the basis of how much sales are recorded by be Mobile, and how effectively they have used this platform for brand positioning, although the former is key.
Even though I seem to interrogate the knowledge of our clubs, I have since figured out they now appreciate it is very difficult to secure sponsorships. What they do not seem to internalise - and this is the second part of my offering this week - is that the increase in prize money is a cue for players to hike their asking prices.
Brace yourselves for shocking stories of players demanding P100,000 sign-on fees and P15,000 salaries per month. The emergence of this 'fantasy market' will be premised on the false belief that Botswana football is rich and clubs can now afford to pay these sums. Despite the entry of be Mobile, our football remains poor. We still wallow in a state of helplessness. There is a deficit of strategies to give clubs financial power.
When players start infuriating their bosses by demanding huge pay and transfer fees are left to the vultures, other service providers will sadly turn on the screws as well. The person who transports the team will start charging more. Traditional doctors are also clever. They know there is money. They will want more.
But football does not own anything except Lekidi House. When the new stadia are completed, expect increases in levies, 'due to escalating costs of running these facilities'.
Currently the levy is 30% of total proceeds from the game. Some of these facilities would do well as grazing grounds. But there is no shame in clubs being charged huge fees to use them. Now imagine a facility that is in a superb state. How much do you reckon it would cost our clubs? Yep, that is what I am saying. Without own facilities, the quest for success will remain a pipe dream.
I pity the fans. When the product starts appealing, and the market records demand, the price of tickets will escalate. Which of course would boost the revenue much-needed by clubs. While more people on the seats at matches guarantees cash, the ultimate objective is for other revenue streams to be cultivated.
Clubs must use this feel-good factor initiated by the current sponsor to brand themselves and work towards cultivating relationship with corporate Botswana. Clubs need to go out to the market and try securing title sponsors and other suppliers in areas such as accommodation, transport, training equipment and so on.
Just in case I forget, a certain type of behaviour helps to elevate brand status too.
We do not want to see clubs flaunting their 'private' rituals in public as it degrades the product.
Comments about the league by officials should not be made recklessly without considering the sensitivity of the partnership with be Mobile. More over, the Premier League Committee (PLC) should jack-up their administrative acumen and contain mishaps with the potential to bring the competition into disrepute.
The same goes for our referees. I know some have been taking kick-backs. And the increase in their allowances should now allow them some freedom to perform unhindered.
From P150 to P600, the hike in the referees' allowance is huge.
Money is never enough - just as someone will soon tell us the P1m prize falls short.
The PLC must come up with a code of ethics for clubs and the basic standards needed for a club to be accepted in the Premier League. It is called professionalism.
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