Similar displays have caused an uproar with some people feeling that it is inappropriate for women to dance topless. Others however, feel that it is no more than a display of African culture.

I figure Mardi Gras must be something like this!

Every day we wake up to the sound of vuvuzelas in the streets. It is like a clarion call for all football fans to wake up to another day of electrifying games. South Africa has been swept away by the vuvuzela tide. Always the radical, I promised myself that I would not conform to popular culture. I detested these vile, offensive noise makers. But eventually, I let my hair down and puckered up. Still, many shops here now advertise great deals on ear plugs or “anti-vuvuzela devices”. Read full story here.

Ghanaians cheering at the 2010 World Cup.

It is 4.30pm on a very cold Sunday afternoon at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa grounds. In fact, it has been raining and has only just subsided to a bearable drizzle. The referees begin to trickle, in wrapped up warm, teeth chattering. Everyone is pensive; probably because they have not had a fitness test since June 2009 just before the Safari Sevens.

As the game of rugby makes positive leaps and bounds, the referees are determined not to be left behind, especially on the pitch. Today, several of Kenya’s top referees have come for the bleep test organised as part of the process to vet the referees who will finally be called upon to officiate in the upcoming Bamburi Rugby Super Series 2010.

Referee Development Officer and seniour referee, Sammy “Karis” Kariuki, is here, as is the Bamburi Rugby Super Series Tournament Director, Herbert Mwachiro. Mini-rugby training has just ended and now the children settle at the stands to watch the referees take the pitch, so to speak. A total of 13 referees are taking part in the bleep test today; among them, arguably the top female referee in the country, Sarah Otieno. A good number of the referees seem to have been kept away by the rains.

Karis boasts of having gotten to level twelve once. Godwin begins to doubt this story because the last time Karis told it, he talked about level twelve and a half. Victor Muniafu has found a strategic spot from which to watch events unfold. Today he strictly here to give the guys morale support and looks quite shocked at a suggestion that he should take part in the bleep test. The official record holders seem to be Karani, Cap and John Bosco, tied at level twelve although John Bosco claims to have gotten to level thirteen once and is hard pressed to prove it.

Osborne Bulemi, another seniour referee, arrives, amidst a cloud of smoke, like a genie from a bottle. While Karis attempts the bleep test with his juniours, Osborne opts to light up again. But not before he blows the whistle to sermon the participants to the pitch to begin the test.
After a short briefing on the general rules of a bleep test, the process is soon under way and it seems as if no man, or woman, will be left behind. Everyone is neck to neck. “Karis” fights a brave fight before just falling short of level six. He moves to the sidelines and begins to egg the rest of the team on. One by one they reach their limit and by level nine, only six referees are left.

Streaks of sweat are now visible, even in this deplorable weather, and strain is written all over their faces. The crowd is cheering them on and clapping them out. John Bosco, Cap and Karani make the final three. John Bosco falls just short of his (official) personal best leaving Cap and Karani to battle it out. Karani is scheduled join other match officials at the Junior World Rugby Trophy 2010 in Russia later this year. Fitness definitely contributes to his high level performance as a referee. But today, it is Constant Cap who draws the curtains on the bleep test at level 12.8.

Osborne and “Karis” are happy with the performance today and are looking forward to assessing another batch of referees expected to take the bleep test next weekend. They are positive that the referees are making great progress and that with continuous assessment on application of laws, control of the game, communication and fitness, they will be more than ready come the Bamburi Rugby Super Series 2010 in April.

Similar criteria for qualification of tournament referees are expected to be used in Uganda and Tanzania. “We are also looking for qualified referees from Uganda and Tanzania. We want Ugandan and Tanzanian referees to officiate matches between Kenyan teams. Where Uganda plays Kenya, a Tanzanian referee will officiate the match while a Kenyan referee will officiate any matches between Uganda and Tanzania. This will serve to raise the profile of the tournament”, said Osborne.

For love or money?

Let’s just say for the sake of argument that EABL’s sponsorship of the sevens tournament was philanthropic, then don’t you think we might have seen more of an effort on EABL’s part to develop the sport; to develop the RFUEA grounds; to support the local sevens circuit; something? And no, Tusker did not increase the popularity of the sevens version of the game in the country; the national sevens team did. The only thing that EABL and their Tusker brand succeeded in doing was increasing the popularity of the safari village with the endless flow of tuskers and late night parties.

So did KRFU benefit from this partnership? Of course they did. With the funding they were able to host what is most likely the highlight of the KRFU calendar each year for thirteen years. They made a healthy sum in gate collections and they managed to put Kenya on the world map in so far as world class tournaments are concerned. But take into account the money spent by KRFU to get ‘star teams’ here, where EABL didn’t pitch in, accommodation costs for teams, payment of service providers and so on, and may be you can begin to realise that the spoils weren’t as lucrative as we sometimes made them out to be. No doubt the tournament made a profit but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t much to speak of. They could have done a lot more with the opportunity they had.

Milking the ‘cash cow’

Who better to understand a rugby market and fraternity than a rugby governing body? I would like to think that the underscoring factor put into consideration when signing the initial deal with EABL was not how easy it would be to provide beer to the rugby fans. There must have been a grand plan in place to make the most of the opportunity; a plan that went well beyond hosting the safaris sevens tournament. You know, like a long term plan so that when KRFU looked back in ten years they could see tangible benefits of having hosted a great tournament successfully for several years? What was the goal and was it attained is what I’d like to know. If it was attained then well in and adios Tusker, you served your purpose! But if there was a plan that is not any closer to being achieved than it was ten years ago, then dear KRFU, EABL just screwed you.

No debate needed about whether or not EABL milked their cash cow. They sold beer. Period.

Generally, and perhaps more so with sports, sponsorships raise awareness among consumers. Consumers will see an association between the product and the sport. Rugby elevated the status of Tusker for rugby fans.

The danger for KRFU is that the rugby brand and Tusker became inextricably linked and this probably turned off other target markets for the sport. The challenge now would be to repackage rugby and disassociate the Safari Sevens with drunken weekends and underage bingeing.

End of the road?

There are many tales about what happened where that led to the termination of the contract; that someone somewhere is flexing muscles or that someone is ‘a woman scorned’. I personally, for diplomacy’s sake have chosen to go with the Elgon Cup-what’s-in-the-contract-and-what’s-not-in-the-contract-story.

This is the definitely the end of the road for EABL and rugby. But I think that it is just the beginning for KRFU. This is a much awaited chance to get serious and explore this tournament to its full potential. It is a chance to start a fresh, with experience gained and develop an equally beneficial relationship with safari sevens sponsors. And rebrand rugby in Kenya.

Go to: https://statedept.connectsolutions.com/nairobi/.

Choose “enter as guest,” type in your preferred screen name, and join the discussion.

Hope to see you there!

(Thanks Sarah)

Read more here.

Rombo V. Kopo
Generations came together, the inspiring and the inspired…. Read more here.