New Vision (Kampala)
Fred Kaweesi
31 October 2009
Kampala — AT the end of Uganda's U-20 Women World Cup qualifier against Rwanda last Saturday, hordes of female fans, obviously impressed with the team's display, run onto the pitch, planted pecks on each of their 11 heroes and sung "We are going to the World Cup."
Uganda's 2-1 win was majestic and propelled in significance for the simple fact that more women were attracted to the sport.
The She Hippos played with heart, desire and skill and there was so much more to the female football support that joined in celebration.
In terms of its appeal to women, soccer not only offers the draw of the kid factor, but the sexiness factor as well -all those shapely legged, attractive international men, showing their prowess on the field for 90 minutes at a time.
Because of Uganda's World Cup qualifying result, there has been unprecedented interest now among women in the U-20 Women World Cup tournament and particularly more into the World Cup tournament due in South Africa next year.
Of course, Uganda's enduring love affair with qualification for the World Cup has for decades proved to be a roller-coaster of pure agony and distant dream.
But Coca Cola will help millions realize that cherished dream, by bringing home the tournament's highly-coveted trophy on November 15.
Free tickets to the tour have already been made available during Coca-Cola promotions within the country and there has been unprecedented excitement in the building up.
It (the World Cup) being a male's sport, one would ordinarily expect men at the heart of the trophy's tour program. Not this time though.
For the first time in the history of the tournament, or at least its trophy tour, women have assumed responsibility towards making its journey to Africa a success.
A cast of women at Coca Cola's East and Central Africa Business Unit (ECABU) was charged with organizing the movement of the highly-coveted trophy around the region on its way to South Africa for the World Cup draw scheduled for Cape Town on December 4.
Although a bulk of them (nine women) are based in, Kenya, Uganda's tour will be pioneered by two women namely Maggie Kigozi (Brand manager, Uganda Coca-Cola East and Central Africa) and Phionah Nahabwe (Marketing Assistant, Uganda Coca-Cola East and Central Africa).
As the company's brand manager, Kigozi's responsibilities during the tour will be somewhat Herculean.
"My role in this project is to ensure that all Ugandans get to know and hear about the project and to generate excitement about the biggest thing to hit the football world in Uganda."
"I will need to ensure that all the consumers know that Coca-Cola is bringing the real FIFA World Cup Trophy to Uganda on November 15 at the Lugogo Cricket Oval.
Her interests in the sport stem from being brought up in this football-mad country.
"Living in a city where Football brings everything to a stop, one can't help but to develop some kind of interest in Football. I know quite a lot about football especially since the Premier League became big in Uganda."
Although Kigozi has not played football before, the soft-spoken manager feels women's off-the-pitch bearings have contributed to the success of the sport, particularly during international competitions.
"We have very many women soccer supporters in Uganda, you can see this during national matches, they seem to have as much passion or even more than the men."
To Kigozi, the trophy tour will not only attract more women to the sport but also offer added inspiration to Uganda and other African nations, for whom qualification to the world's major football showpiece has often proved a far-fetched dream.
"Coca- Cola has given a chance to every African and Ugandan to experience what every football player wants most in life, to win and see that FIFA World Cup Trophy. This experience is going to inspire Ugandans to work hard and make it to the next World Cup because after seeing the trophy and taking a picture with it, there is no way to go but up for the Ugandan football fans. We are actually inviting the FUFA team and the Cranes Team to this event just to ignite their hopes that it is possible for Uganda to be part of the next FIFA World Cup." She adds that hosting the tournament will leave behind a legacy on three fronts.
"The first legacy will be an African Country winning this Trophy. Then hosting a violent -free, fun and memorable FIFA World Cup Tournament will be a legacy in itself, and of course the fact that Coca- Cola is an official Partner to FIFA 2010 World Cup and offering the consumers, this opportunity to go and watch the World Cup live in SA will also be a legacy to them."
When South Africa won the right to host the tournament, respectable football pundits, and former football legends such as George Weah and Abedi Pele predicted an African nation winning the global event for the first time in history.
An African nation will win it,
says Nahabwe
Contrary to previous editions, when Africa had five representatives, 2010 will have an extra African nation. Could this prove a major factor?
"Of course," states Phionah Nahabwe (Marketing Assistant, Uganda Coca-Cola East and Central Africa).
"It means more opportunities of winning it."
"Besides, there are a number of stars that could lift any of the African countries. For example Ivory Coast should be favourites with the likes of Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure and Yaya Toure.
"The hosts South Africa will also be a threat like we saw during the FIFA Confederations Cup.
"Then there is Ghana, who will want to build around their success in the just concluded U-20 World Cup that was held in Egypt.
"With Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah in that side, we are already looking at three potential candidates for winning the tournament," Nahabwe pointed.
Coca Cola's interests in football development are not only attached with major championships but grass root development in various African countries.
In Uganda, they annually sponsor the COPA Coca-Cola Football Championship that involves over 70 teams from most of the districts of the country.
The championship, worth sh800m every year, has been a talent-minting project for Ugandan football, with a majority of players that thrive from it forming a bulk of the current Cranes squad.
"Coca-Cola is committed to developing young talent and COPA Coca-Cola is proof of this. Every year we invest a lot as a company to train young talent and the results have been there for all to see," Nahabwe added.
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