Monday 6 April 2009

Johnny-come-latelys

Kenya makes it to the Adelaide Sevens Final and we're all anxious and grabbing seats hoping to upset the form books and lift the first IRB Circuit round trophy. Same goes for the corporate firms which have for so long watched and waited for an opportune time to start blowing their horns the way the support this and that sport.
Others still will claim to have seen the potential that sport has and that is why they are throwing in some money for the cause. The worst culprits will be those claiming that it is in their Corporate Social Responsibility (.... more like Can't Socialism Relax ?)
Kenyan companies have for a long time made super profits which they have committed to their mother companies ( talking of the British and French companies which have been milking us dry). They turn a cold shoulder to sports and when they do commit they often throw crumbs which only serve to remunerate boards which have their stooges there and thus becomes a vicious cycle.
Sports in Kenya has more than enough potential to grow to some phenomenal heights and this can be seen with the Rugby Sevens. Virgin Airlines saw this potential and one Richard Branson did not need nudging twice to be convinced this was a growth sport.
Well the economic woes may have troubled air travel & all but whenever Kenya plays and we see Virgin all over the team's jerseys doesn't it make you wonder where Kenyan companies were ( or better still are!)
With the Junior World Rugby Trophy coming to Kenya in a few days time ( starts on 21st of April), lets see your usual johnny-come-latelys make their appearance on the sponsorship board.

4 comments:

Maik said...

Tusker were on Kenya Sevens shirts before Virgin..with the usual Kenyan Sponsorship...pledges to pay allowances..which took ages to materialize..all this while their logo/brand got publicity worldwide..Not a surprise that KRFU jumped ship.

Kenyan sponsors must now match the type of sponsorship from Virgin...do they have the goodwill? Methinks not..

Old Faithful said...

Kenyan companies thinks CSR is charity.. do they know there is a whole ISO standard for it? And I agree.. no one wants to do the hard work, just share in the glory that comes in the end.

SportsKenya said...

You guys have just put it as it is. Wait and see companies knock over each other. Is it me or is the Kenya Golf Open getting more sponsorship than it deserves?

Andruid said...

Politicians see thses the sports ministry as nothing but a fountain of free pseudo-events. that is why most of them (even the ones who become ministers of sport) cannot identify potential growth areas to focus investment and thus come up with a coherent policy that is good for sports. That is why football, for example,despite all the politicians who hang around it has such a shortage of infrastructure, minimal focus of youth development and largely non accountability. one cannot even be sure who is charge any given day of the week.