04 May 2014
UGANDA : Falcons at Makerere
Falcons’ players will play infront of 1,500 fans after a deal was
reached with Makerere University to use the poolside court at for the
next five seasons. Photo BY ISMAIL KEZAALA
KAMPALA
As the local basketball fraternity gets round mouthing Krishna Falcons, it will no doubt do well paying heed to the six-time league champions’ creditable move to give the Makerere University poolside court a facelift. Falcons recently reached agreement with Makerere University to use the poolside court at the ivory tower for the next five seasons.
As the local basketball fraternity gets round mouthing Krishna Falcons, it will no doubt do well paying heed to the six-time league champions’ creditable move to give the Makerere University poolside court a facelift. Falcons recently reached agreement with Makerere University to use the poolside court at the ivory tower for the next five seasons.
When the nip and tuck is done, the court will have
a 1,500 seating capacity. Falcons top brass expect to use money gleaned
from the gate to stand the club in good stead.
This undertaking by Falcons cannot be lauded more.
Ugandan club basketball is such a crowd-pleaser. It’s popular appeal
has had quite a translatability in the financial sense.
Although they don’t want to openly admit it,
various basketball stakeholders are making a killing at the gate where
princely sums are realised on match-days. Fuba, the local basketball
governing body, pockets 30 percent of the gate takings. The national
team also chips away five percent of the windfall, with the clubs taking
the rest.
The gate takings are anything but small beer for the clubs as
they help them pick the tab for theirs and the players’ wellbeing.
During last season’s playoffs, which run at the tail-end of each year,
eventual men’s champions City Oilers made windfall profits totalling Shs
12m.
This just goes to show that Ugandan club
basketball can be as traditional a cash cow as they get. This cow, like
any rancher will tell you, needs to be fed to, well, produce milk. That,
I reckon, is what Falcons are trying to do. If they have their way,
they will have in their possession something that provides a steady
income or profit -- a facility that seats 1500 fans.
The significance of this cannot be overlooked
especially since Fuba continues to grapple with a hodgepodge of
stumbling blocks pertaining to the usage of the MTN Arena. It’s pretty
well documented that the MTN Arena covered in that unmistakable yellow
hue and the Airtel National Basketball League are not dissimilar from
oil and water. Put simply, they don’t mix!
Falcons’ attempt to give the poolside court a fresh coat of paint can therefore be viewed as a panacea for the above corporate ills. Above all else, it is a win-win for Ugandan basketball. It takes the game to a niche market Fuba has become increasingly interested in -- university students. It’s certainly something that is by all accounts pleasurable.
Falcons’ attempt to give the poolside court a fresh coat of paint can therefore be viewed as a panacea for the above corporate ills. Above all else, it is a win-win for Ugandan basketball. It takes the game to a niche market Fuba has become increasingly interested in -- university students. It’s certainly something that is by all accounts pleasurable.
# posted by afrbk : 16:16
