Nile Special – Fufa:
A journey to savour
We have had a relationship with the Federation of Uganda Football Association (Fufa) for approximately 10 years. The first years were characterized by many significant heart breaks as the Cranes narrowly missed out on qualification for the Africa Nations Cup.
But as stakeholders, the federation, the Cranes, the fans and the sponsors we dusted ourselves up and kept giving it another go. Each campaign was approached with renewed hope without the burden of the previous near misses.
Subsequently, with resilience and optimism we made it back to Africa’s premier football competition after a 39 year absence on September 4th, 2016 when the Cranes defeated Comoros 1-0 at Namboole. The atmosphere was euphoric. The pain of previous heartaches was washed away by the tears of joys from many a fan.
The Cranes made it back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifications with a 1-0 victory over Cape Verde in Kampala on 17 November, 2018. The team went one round better than the previous campaign falling to eventual finalists Senegal at the round of 16.
But to appreciate why we opted for a relationship with Fufa, you will need to comprehend what Nile Special stands for. Given our heritage as a truly Ugandan brand, made of Ugandan ingredients, by a Ugandan master brewer and brewed at the source of the Nile, we celebrate all things that bring Ugandan pride; not only the big ones but also the smaller aspects.
For this reason we found our partnership with Fufa a natural fit. No platform in the country rallies Ugandans around a national cause like the Uganda Cranes, almost all work in the countrywide urban centers comes to a standstill when the team is playing.
The Federation also works very hard to take the Uganda Cranes brand closer to the fans all over the country through the Cranes tours. Nile Special has supported this initiative from the onset because it aligns with our brand objectives of celebrating the things that embody Uganda pride.
Our satisfaction is in the growing appreciation for Uganda Cranes by Ugandans. And by extension Ugandans are getting more reasons to fall in love with their country. Our satisfaction is in showing Ugandans the reasons to be proud of their country. We do this by celebrating our Ugandan aspects.
A couple of years back we carried out research that revealed that while many Ugandans loved their country they lacked a particular aspect to be proud of. This is what sent us on the quest to celebrate these various Ugandan aspects so that Ugandans could realize that there’s a lot they can be proud of about Uganda. Our relationship with Fufa has been very fruitful so far given what we have been able to achieve together. This is mainly because this partnership was birthed by two entities that share the same objectives; to revive Ugandan pride in the national team, and the country at large.
To the brand, Uganda Cranes is not exactly the end, but a platform for us to remind Ugandans of the various aspects to celebrate about their country. For as long as our objectives are still the same, we shall remain the official Fufa beer partners. And this seems to be the stand at least for the foreseeable future.