– Deal worth Shs4billion
– Shs1.8billion direct to FUFA accounts for national Team activities
– Shs2.2billion additional to promote Cranes through media and countrywide tours.
LOCAL Football governing body, FUFA and partners Nile special have renewed another four-year project to unearth talent and a campaign meant to garner Cranes’ support.
In what has become a story successful project with players making National team (Cranes) breakthrough using this country-wide tour, Farouk Miya, Ismail Watenga(goalkeeper), Muzamiru Mutyaba and Derrick Tewko among others are some of the notables that have made senior team debuts having made their mark from the “Cranes Na Mutima” campaign.
FUFA and Nile Breweries Limited under the flagship brand, have extended their sponsorship partnership by four years, worth Shs4 billion at a momentous ceremony at the Nile Breweries Limited plant in Luzira yesterday.
“It has become a “the perfect footballing channel” ever been thought, I remember Miya coming on as a substitute and scoring in Cranes’ 1-nil win over the Western region and the saying goes, the rest is history for the boy,” Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic, Uganda Cranes head coach remarked.
In the new deal, 1.8 Billion will go direct to the FUFA account for the national team activities; 2.2 billion is an additional package to promote the national team through media and countrywide tours for over the four years.
The package takes the form of cash, communication during the national team engagements and the Nile Special Cranes Na Mutima tours.
“Our major objective is to improve Cranes’ country-wide appeal so that it remains a viable platform to associate with. We thank the brand for this vote of confidence.It is a firm indicator of the value that the brand has leveraged by its association with the national team” FUFA CEO, Edgar Watson noted.
The current sponsorship package in comparison to the previous sponsorship deal that was worth Shs1.2 Billion for three years, to October, 2015.
“As a brand we take special pride in local occasions that bring us together as Ugandans and the national team is such a one” the Nile Special sponsorships manager Isaac Sekasi reasoned that, following the previous campaign, which in spite early promise, ended tearfully “there is need to pick up our Cranes’ regalia again and get behind our team”.
“We are aware of the heartache suffered by the nation following yet another nearly campaign last year. But this is our national team. We have to make a conscious decision to stick with it no matter what. This is what we mean by Cranes na Mutima,” said Sekasi, who also pledged that the brand is going to utilize much all its available media properties.
To further canvass for support and once again galvanize the nation around the nation team, Cranes is scheduled to tour three upcountry destinations and play exhibition games with regional select sides. The regions earmarked include West (Mbarara), East (Mbale) and North (Gulu).
At the same function, the Breweries’ Marketing Director Daniel Ogong handed over Shs54million to Watson which was collected by fans from last year’s Cranes Na-Mutima campaign.
In the new contract Ruwenzori Bottling Company are the official water providers of the Cranes.
