Last week, a three-man Uganda delegation led by the State Sports Minister Peter Ogwang returned from New York after making great inroads with the National Football League (NFL) American Football Side Buffalo Bills.

Following a meeting at the Highmark Stadium, Buffalo New York, attended by Ogwang, Uganda Ambassador to the US Robbie Kakonge, the Principal Secretary Ministry of Education and Sports Jackie Basemera, NCS General Secretary, Patrick Ogwel, and American Football Federation of Uganda (AFFU) president George Okeng and the Buffalo Bills, Uganda will soon become a home marketing area for the latter.

Currently, there are only two countries in Africa; Ghana for the Philadelphia Eagles and Nigeria for the Cleveland Browns that are marketing areas for the NFL. Uganda will become the third for the $4.1 billion (sh15t) franchise.

According to Okeng having the right to market in a particular country means they will market for five years after which they can move to another country. During that period there are a lot of activities including recruiting fans, giving them live experiences of the game, and also developing the club football program for those teams.

Under the partnership, the team will also financially support the country with equipment, and technical expertise, which includes coaching and training of trainers, training referees in the rules of the sport, and giving them an experience through exchange programs to the US, and to have a hands-on experience in officiating and coaching.

Bufallo Bills Okeng

The media, marketing, and governance teams will also benefit from the exchange programs and continue learning how the sport is run.

He added that under the partnership the Buffalo Bills will be able to send out and fully facilitate a club football team from the ages of 9-15 to go to the US during the Pro Bowls every year, something that has happened for Ghana since 2022.

“The partnership is good enough to complement what we have on the ground and what the government will be chipping in for us. It is a process to get things in line and we are ready to embrace and tap into that experience as an organisation,” Okeng stated.

“We are also happy that the team is excited to partner with us and we would like to appreciate the government through the Ministry of Education and Sports who were able to travel to the US which shows their commitment towards the sport and which shows that they are willing to support the game and do all it takes for it.

“The government is ready to partner with these teams in different initiatives and are pushing to make Uganda the home of the NFL Academy in Africa. That is also in the conversation; if it happens, it will be a big achievement.

“If it materialises it will mean all players from other countries in Africa will be coming to Uganda for training, and scouts will be coming to recruit players,” Okeng noted.

“With the academy, our players can be scouted directly to the NFL teams through the new NFL initiative called the International Player Pathway Program. They want to have more foreign players in the league as opposed to only American players and colleges from the US. They are also looking to grow their fan base international

“Africa has been seen as a prospective continent for the growth of the game in the world that is why they are investing a lot in Africa. So as Uganda, we need to position ourselves for some of these opportunities so that when these things come we shall take it with both hands,” Okeng stated.

He said the ambassador also commended the work of the federation and pledged to support it from the US. She also pledged to look for more partners to be able to support the initiative in Africa

“We are also working with the Ugandan Embassy in Washington to have a liaison officer at the embassy specifically for the sport so that he helps us sort out a lot of issues including scholarship opportunities for our players.

All is going very well and we expect soon to receive a team from one of those NFL franchises to discuss more with the big people here.

“I believe by September we could have the partnership running and documents signed because what normally happens is when we show interest in having an NFL team as a home marketing area, the NFL team will then write to the international committee of the FNL and tell them that we have identified Uganda as a potential marketing area for our team and we love it to be granted. Once the international committee grants it then it is good to go,” Okeng stated.