James Bakama
4 July 2009
Kampala — KAMPALA City Council (KCC) might have failed to make it to CAF's big money leagues but the Lugogo side still has an opportunity of winding up the season with a hefty reward.
All George Nsimbe's side has to do is win the CECAFA Club Championship and a cool sh200m will be on the club's account. The top team in Sudan will earn $50,000(sh104m). This, plus a pay cheque of a similar amount for the purchase of striker Brian Umony will have KCC smiling all the way to the bank.
El Merreikh Investment Group, under whom Sudanese champions El Merreikh fall, have partnered with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame to boost the competition's cash prizes to unprecedented levels.
Kagame previously offered $30,000 for the winner and $20,000 and $10,000 for the second and third placed teams respectively. With the new sponsors package, the top team will walk away with $50,000, second-$30,000 and third $20,000.
KCC has not hidden its desirefor the CECAFA cash. They made a strong statement of intent by beating favourites TP Mazembe 3-2 in their opening match. A 3-1 win over Tanzanian side Prisons thereafter had KCC setting one foot in the quarter-finals.
Improved standards
Organisers also expect the financial rewards to boost standards. It's this quest for quality that saw the organizers invite giants TP Mazembe.
DR Congo champions Mazembe together with Sudanese clubs El Merreikh and Al Hilal are the only clubs in this region that qualified for CAF Champions League group stage.
CECAFA Secretary General Nicholas Musonye and Amin Yousif, a member of the El- Merreikh Sports Club Investment Group's Osama and Abdelbagi Sheikh both from Sudan's Organising Committee, confidently predicted prior to kick-off that the region was set for the greatest and most fiercely fought out Kagame Cup.
Glitz and glamour
If the tournament's opening ceremony was anything to go by, then the organizers indeed set high standards.
The Sudan Football Federation and the sponsors organized the best CECAFA opening ceremonies ever on Tuesday night at the El Merreikh stadium. Attractive dancing groups and sparkling fireworks lit up the stadium.
The glitz and glamour are a bold statement by the new sponsors. El Merreikh Group injected a whopping $600,000(sh1.2b) to cater for full board accommodation and return air tickets for all delegations plus allowances for officials, referees and the local organizing committee.
El Mereikh is one of the few African clubs that own a football stadium. The club owns a premier stadium in Khartoum, in the Omdurman district.
The sports complex was built in 1926, refurbished in 1963, and upgraded to a 41,000 all-seat modern facility in 2007. The stadium also accommodates the national team for it fixtures.
With its rich history and attendant successes, El Mereikh is an adored power house in Sudan in sharp contrast to many other African countries.
Kenya and Uganda provide a classic example of countries where football fans' attendance figures of local matches have consistently dwindled.
The English Premier League and other European clubs have seduced fans away from local teams.
Tanzania is, however, different. Tanzanians still fill stadia to watch local matches especially those between arch-rivals Yanga FC and Simba FC.
El Mereikh is a case of solid proof of how fan support can sustain the fortune and success of a club. Most El Merreikh matches sell out. Average gate collection is $300,000 (sh600m). It will therefore take the club just two matches to recoup their investment.
The tournament was initially supposed to be staged by Uganda but FUFA opted out due to financial constraints. The federation had banked on pay television channel GTV which collapsed just months to the competition.
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