Sports is Uganda's best marketing tool

Aug 07, 2017

Uganda is being cast in good light thanks to a grand occasion where one of its own has sparkled.

Joshua Cheptegei's silver has not only thrust him into the global headlines, but is also very good PR for Uganda.

Uganda is being cast in good light thanks to a grand occasion where one of its own has sparkled.

The entire world had its eyes on this race.  The 66,000 London Olympic stadium was packed. Everyone wanted to see how British legend Sir Mo Farah would run his last 10,000 meter race.

Amidst all this, Chepetegei and ultimately Uganda also ended up enjoying very good coverage.

Every media house wanted to be part of the action. As Farah signed out with gold, he was on the front page of every British newspaper. So was Cheptegei and Uganda.

Standing out prominently a few paces behind Farah was always that tall, dark lean runner with a bright yellow vest, whose front was clearly emblazoned- Uganda.

What better publicity for a country that has previously mainly featured in western media for issues like poverty, HIV Aids and war.

The only other time Uganda has received such good coverage internationally media was when another athlete Stephen Kiprotich sparkled in 2012.

Interestingly this was also in London. Kiprotich that time won Olympic gold in the men's marathon and enjoyed unprecedented coverage.

Kiprotich commanded the spotlight in one of the most covered events of the games of the 30th Olympiad.

The Olympic marathon has immense coverage because of its special positioning as the last event of the prestigious quadrennial games.

Cheptegei was to the contrary in the spotlight in the opening day's final event.

John Akii-Bua 45 years ago was also the reason millions of people got to about Uganda.

As this tall lean police officer won Olympic gold after becoming the first person to dip under 48 seconds, the world wanted to know his origins.

That's the power of sport. It transcends all forms of boundaries. So what better tool than sport, can Uganda use to market itself?

You've certainly also not forgotten that efforts to use other means to market the country have not been very successful.

Our neighbours Kenya have mastered the art of using sport as a marketing tool. They take the sports industry seriously and are today reaping massively.

Sports tourism is huge business in Kenya. Athletes from all over the world are attracted to the East African nation after seeing Kenyan runners excel.

They come in huge numbers to fine tune in similar conditions, hoping to also excel. Mo Farah who has lately dominated the 5,000 and 10,000 meters is one such athlete.

Such trips come with spending which in turn boosts the Kenyan economy. Then of course there is also the prize money that Kenyan runners win internationally.

Just imagine a scenario where Uganda also has several high performance centers producing hundreds of runners of Cheptegei's stature.

Uganda would be making a fortune. Then of course there would also be the good PR.

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