UBL grounds: where beer trounces football
Jul 12, 2007
IT does not matter whether you are talentless, past your prime or potbellied. Once you step on the lush greenery of the Uganda Breweries Football field, talent visits you, but only for a while. <br>
By Alex Balimwikungu
and Pidson Kareire
IT does not matter whether you are talentless, past your prime or potbellied. Once you step on the lush greenery of the Uganda Breweries Football field, talent visits you, but only for a while.
Go there on any Friday and you are sure to land on the potbellied, masquerading as the champions of football. When kick-off time comes, you discover that the champions of football only reside in people’s minds.
For the record, every team that visits the grounds loses!
That is where the entertainment comes in. Football’s odyssey of grandeur and talent descends once the referee’s whistle goes.
And do not think you have the attention of the fans, (majority employees of the brewery). They are busy fighting for beers at the grass-thatched Bush Bar at the extreme end of the pitch.
Last Friday, when Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) curtain-raised at a function that saw Uganda Breweries (UBL) donate sh30m towards the Veterans Gala slated for next month, ‘talent’ was in abundance.
If celebrated Swahili soccer commentator, Mic Mike Arereng was as fast as his motor mouth, the scribes would have scored a dozen. A few step-overs and Arereng begged to go off.
USPA learnt that it is very hard to win a match at a brewery, especially if the host invites you to a ‘friendly drink’ first. USPA was humbled 3-1 by the Bell team, leaving a foul taste in the mouths of the scribes. The loss was soon forgotten and the party proper took centre stage. The scribes drank the brewery to near empty.
The New Vision team suffered a similar fate at the same ground last month, falling 3-0 to the brewers.
In what seemed to be a deliberate ploy, minutes into New Vision’s arrival to the pitch for a light work out, a thick spiral of smoke which smelt like a mixture of barley, hops and malt, hovered in the air.
The legion of New Vision supporters, team managers and coach, were so engrossed in taking the free flowing beer offered by hosts, they cared less about proceedings on the pitch. Some had the audacity to ask about the final score, yet they were actually on the pitch!
Win or lose, teams somehow never turn down an invitation to Bell FC. On a cold Friday evening, beer is alluring and most corporate football teams always begin their weekend that way.
and Pidson Kareire
IT does not matter whether you are talentless, past your prime or potbellied. Once you step on the lush greenery of the Uganda Breweries Football field, talent visits you, but only for a while.
Go there on any Friday and you are sure to land on the potbellied, masquerading as the champions of football. When kick-off time comes, you discover that the champions of football only reside in people’s minds.
For the record, every team that visits the grounds loses!
That is where the entertainment comes in. Football’s odyssey of grandeur and talent descends once the referee’s whistle goes.
And do not think you have the attention of the fans, (majority employees of the brewery). They are busy fighting for beers at the grass-thatched Bush Bar at the extreme end of the pitch.
Last Friday, when Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) curtain-raised at a function that saw Uganda Breweries (UBL) donate sh30m towards the Veterans Gala slated for next month, ‘talent’ was in abundance.
If celebrated Swahili soccer commentator, Mic Mike Arereng was as fast as his motor mouth, the scribes would have scored a dozen. A few step-overs and Arereng begged to go off.
USPA learnt that it is very hard to win a match at a brewery, especially if the host invites you to a ‘friendly drink’ first. USPA was humbled 3-1 by the Bell team, leaving a foul taste in the mouths of the scribes. The loss was soon forgotten and the party proper took centre stage. The scribes drank the brewery to near empty.
The New Vision team suffered a similar fate at the same ground last month, falling 3-0 to the brewers.
In what seemed to be a deliberate ploy, minutes into New Vision’s arrival to the pitch for a light work out, a thick spiral of smoke which smelt like a mixture of barley, hops and malt, hovered in the air.
The legion of New Vision supporters, team managers and coach, were so engrossed in taking the free flowing beer offered by hosts, they cared less about proceedings on the pitch. Some had the audacity to ask about the final score, yet they were actually on the pitch!
Win or lose, teams somehow never turn down an invitation to Bell FC. On a cold Friday evening, beer is alluring and most corporate football teams always begin their weekend that way.