Welcome World Cup but...

Though, our boys’ chances of qualifying for South Africa 2010 FIFA World cup is slim, football’s ultimate prize, the World Cup, will be in Nigeria later this month, as part of its global tour before 32 countries start competing, in South Africa from June 11-July 11, for who will keep the trophy for another four years.

Apart from Nigeria being a country with strong football pedigree, the country’s choice as one of the country’s that the World Cup will visit may probably have been influenced by Coca-Cola, one of FIFA’s main sponsor.

The gesture no doubt is good as it will avail many Nigerians the chance of seeing the World cup. It could also boost the ambition of many youths to become great footballers in future.

Promotional event

But outside that, the whole exercise is nothing but a promotional event, that may not add any value to our sports in the long run.

For a company that recently pulled out of the sponsorship of the Challenge Cup, now called Federation Cup, Coca-cola ought to have embraced programmes that will, develop our youth at the grassroots level and develop them into tomorrow’s champions, not a one off promotional exercise that is more of entertainment than development.

Coca-Cola may have pulled out of football sponsorship because the football federation is difficult to deal with, but the company whose product is consumed by millions of our youth can embrace school sports, athletics, boxing, basketball and other sports and help our youth nurture their talents rather than a day or two promotional exercise.

Not just Coca-Cola

Coca Cola is not the only company guilty of promotion, instead of sports development. Nigeria Breweries, the maker of Heineken Lager Beer is spending millions on UEFA Champions League in Europe.

The company’s, Heineken Football house, located in Victoria Island where Nigerians, working class, gather to watch the UEFA Champions League is a mere promotional project.

Instead of spending such money to develop our youth and football here, the company is spending the millions to promote what is happening in Europe here in Nigeria.

This event is not adding any value to our sports, considering that NBL used to be active in tennis, and other sports. United Bank for Africa (UBA) sure makes millions from Nigerian youth as profit yearly, but the bank’s only visible contribution to sports development in Nigeria is its Arsenal Card.

A deal the bank signed with Arsenal for God knows how much, but the question to UBA officials is, if the Barclays, a bank like UBA, does not invest in the Premiership in England, thus giving English clubs the resources to become global brands, will UBA invest in Arsenal?

Premiership on television

Guaranty Trust bank (GTB), despite being a bank a lot of youth embrace, is not known to have any dealing with the local football clubs, but the bank is promoting the English Premiership on HITV.

Also guilty of this is Guinness, Etisalat, Afribank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and others. These companies find it easy to promote the English Premiership on HITV or DSTV, whereas majority of their customers are Nigerians, especially youth who invest their resources on these companies. Instead of investing the profit they make on youth of this country, they are investing it on the youth of other countries. If they categorise this as social responsibility, it is a fraud; it is nothing but social irresponsibility.

Tax refund

One is not sure if they are getting that refund from the Inland Revenue categorising their promotion of foreign brands as sports development in Nigeria. If they are getting tax refund from government, that is great disservice to the nation.

Apart from Globacom, Nestle, Shell, Chevron, Mobil and a few other companies, majority of big corporations in Nigeria will rather invest in sports on television rather than develop sports like their counterparts elsewhere do.

If their counterparts in England did not develop the English Premier League, will they have opportunity to promote their companies with the league.

It is time our companies look inward, or risk losing patronage as Nigerian youth may choose to ignore their products and services for that of foreign banks.