From cheering to branding: Super fans are shaping sports culture

For decades, Ugandan sports fans have always been known for their passion but recently, a new phenomenon has taken the scene by storm – the rise of a special breed dubbed the ‘super fans’.

These individuals have evolved from ordinary supporters into influential figures characterized by flamboyant attires, colourful body paint, weird hairstyles, customized vuvuzelas and charisma with boundless energy.

These are not your average fans who only turn up to games, cheer, and leave. Beyond cheering, they lead chants, energize crowds, and drive marketing campaigns and have become integral to the identity of the teams they support. Once seen as unorthodox, super fans are now essential to the sporting experience, blurring the line between passion and profession.

The blue and yellow boy

One such figure is Khassim Kyazze. Imagine watching a KCCA league match without the presence of Kyazze. Or a video trailer promoting their next fixture without his appearance somewhere. Will you even believe its authenticity?

Kyazze often stands out in the crowd wearing the bright yellow and blue of KCCA and now Heathens in rugby. He is also another stunning spectacle when turns up for national duty for either the Uganda Cranes or the Rugby Cranes. His presence in the stands transcends the typical role of an ordinary fan.

Kyazze has been able to transform his passion into a brand that is now widely recognized, showing how sports fandom has evolved in the country.

“I used to support [normally] but later on, I thought of doing something different and that is how I came up with this idea,” Kyazze tells this publication.

“I saw fans out there like in the South African league doing that and thought it was an idea I could pick and replicate here.”

Kyazze received positive reviews from fans on his first attempt and decided to dive into the deep waters.

“The first time I tried to paint only my face and walked up to Namboole and people were buying [the idea], so I decided to do the whole body for the next game,” he narrates.

Kyazze ventured wholly into the idea and his second march to Namboole for Cranes game was his proverbial walk to fame.

“People loved and supported me by the time I reached the stadium, I had money and more than ten tickets to give out.”

Taking to the next level

From then on, his match days are fully occupied, first by the body-painting rituals and then the main business at the stadium.

His style caught the eyes of many including the Fufa president Eng. Moses Magogo who handed him his first ticket out of Uganda.

“2017 was an eye-opener as my efforts started to pay off when I met the Fufa president. He gave me a ticket to support Uganda at Afcon. On that trip, I was also sponsored by Ecobank!”

While Kyazze has struggled to trade his passion, 46-year-old Edward ‘Eddie Kiwanuka has done it tremendously well.

Kiwanuka, whose story has been well-documented, got into rugby in 2011. Just about that time, he latched onto a caravan of rugby fans heading to Kenya’s capital Nairobi to support the Rugby Cranes. That trip was his deal-breaker.

“Most rugby fans have a good educational background and loved singing in English but when we reached Nairobi, the hosts were a different vibe with their local Swahili chants overpowering ours,” Kiwanuka talks of his first international experience.

“So,” he adds, “I thought of doing it in our local languages like Luganda, Acholi and Lusoga.

“When I tried it [as the cheerleader] blending it with my vuvuzela, there was a vibe and the Kenyans stopped to listen to us. I have never looked back since then.”

Top dollar job

Indeed Kiwanuka has never looked back.

“I was so passionate and supported heathens with my heart out and that’s how Nile Special spotted and started sponsoring me,” he reveals his first serious sponsorship. 

Kiwanuka’s star had started rising and landed him an advertising gig with Milkman. Telecommunication giant MTN spotted him from there and decided to work with him on two major projects –Dismas and Mr. Google Sir advertisements. These two shot Kiwanuka into national fame beating some top socialites and musicians to deals. Kiwanuka, a trained motor-vehicle mechanic, has worked on several other projects including Nile Special which is currently running, Stanbic Bank’s Flexipay and others. The true meaning of the coined phrase, “Paid by passion”.

Kiwanuka is a testament that the rise of super fandom is not only for fun but can be turned into a serious business venture without compromising its original nature.

“It takes patience to reach there but once you land on one sponsorship deal, others will open up but this should not be your main motivation,” he warns.

So how lucrative can this be?

“I can’t mention the figures but my biggest deal was about $20,000 (Shs74m)!” he drops the bombshell.

Neutralizing hearts

Impis doesn’t have such noticeable characters in their stands but their staunch fan Joseph Muhumuza appreciates this new phenomenon.

“Most clubs have fans' coordinators and groups but there are super fans like Eddie Kiwanuka at Heathens who are such galvanizing characters that they provide an electrifying atmosphere even for opposition teams,” he says. Muhumuza believes Kiwanuka’s ilk have found their way with the fans who unite behind them up to the national team games. However, he provides his distinctive opinion between Kiwanuka and Kyazze’s brands.

“The new category like Khassim [Kyazze] that I refer to as a cheerleader could be referred to as mascots and we need more of this type. They go the extra mile with body paints, wigs, attires, dancing et al,” he opines.

Symbiotic relationship

While Kyazze and Kiwanuka are heads and shoulders above the rest of their kind, Hippos fans in Jinja have found strength in numbers. The fans who formalized their association with elections late last year have a number of individuals like Olga Nyakachi, Sean Kasule, Chris Blattah and James ‘Walker’ Sseruyange. Each is specialized in a different way as they fit into one band like Franco's TPOK grand orchestra.

The fans often mobilize millions of shillings to support the club and the players regularly.

Among the clubs, Hippos has introduced several initiatives to ensure their super fans and fans feel involved and valued. A super fan now participates in club committee meetings, giving supporters a voice in key decisions. The club has also hosted special events like "Player-Fan Meet and Greet", allowing fans to connect with the players and coaching staff personally.

“We make sure our super fans are seen and celebrated,” says the club secretary William Mwijuka, highlighting the commitment to fan engagement. “We’re introducing exclusive merchandise and special seating to create an experience to show just how much we value them."

The Hippos Fans model is another type of super fans phenomenon. Brands have regularly battled to sponsor these Hippos fans including offering transport and entrance to away games and free or subsidized beverages and goodies.

Why sponsor them?

One will wonder why a multinational corporation would choose a super fan in football or rugby over celebrities or the traditional methods of advertisements.

Eden Kironde, a communications expert and marketing guru, emphasizes the crucial role super fans play in shaping brand identity. “Super fans are the bridge that organically connects the brand to the fans,” he says. To succeed in this, brands must find “touch points” to leverage fan passion without compromising authenticity.

“The super fan leads the show and the brand tags along," Kironde adds. Fans embed the brand’s message naturally into their activities to offer an organic connection that is hard to achieve with traditional advertising.

They bring "trust, charisma, passion, and connection" to the wider fan base, traits often missing in regular advertising. “The biggest advantage is the quick and organic connection of the brand to the fan base,” he notes.

However, to build loyalty, he says, brands must activate all marketing touchpoints, citing Nile Special’s partnership with Eddie Kiwanuka as an example.

“If you are Nile Special, it’s important to have Eddie Kiwanuka on board to do what he does best, but the brand also has to be mindful of how it consistently appears on social media, billboards, bars, radio etc - that’s what builds loyalty.”

To evaluate their output, Kironde explains that metrics for such partnerships vary but "sales is rarely one of them". Instead, brands focus on sentiment scores from social media and conduct dip-stick research to check fan perceptions.

As for sustainability as a business, he believes it depends on the super fans themselves. “If they continually innovate and create more value, brands will be fighting for their services,” he concludes.

Deep emotional attachment

But you may ask, what drives these individuals to those extreme levels of fandom?

Edgar Kazibwe, an in-training sports psychologist, says several psychological factors drive individuals to become super fans. "Super fans identify with their teams as part of their personal and community identity," says Kazibwe, who works with rugby, tennis and cricket sports associations in Uganda. This emotional attachment boosts their self-esteem, especially when their team succeeds, and often serves as a form of escapism from daily struggles.

Unlike regular fans, super fans invest significant time and resources into their teams, with the club’s successes and failures directly impacting their emotional state.

Dealing with downsides

However, Kazibwe warns of potential downsides such as burnout or emotional exhaustion, especially when the team struggles. Obsession can strain personal relationships, disrupt work-life balance, and lead to conflicts with rival fans, which may affect mental well-being and cause isolation.

“I’m blessed because my wife and family understand my passion and what I do but again after some time, I was able to start earning something from it,” Kiwanuka explains how he deals with the downsides of his trade.

Kiwanuka reckons that his ilk dedicate a full day on match days and more for tournaments that last longer or out of the city. This, he says can grossly affect life’s balance but the onus is on the individual to strike a balance.

“It takes a full day and more when I’m travelling out of Kampala. That means that I must cover up by working extra hours at work before switching,” he advises. “It is all about discipline and routine. You must learn how to balance and do things in time."

Energizing the screens alike

Ugandan super fans are not just a stadium phenomenon, their presence is felt far beyond the stadium’s precincts. Uganda Premier League and Caf commentators Peter Otai, Lawrence Bwanika, and Jermaine Egesa agree that these fans impact commentary by enhancing the viewing experience and influencing the mood of millions watching from home.

“Their face and actions paint the picture and mood in the stadium because they hold nothing back,” says Bwanika. Otai adds, “They set the pace and mood of the game and have become a crucial part of the storyline. Even when we fail to mention them, their reactions are sometimes more telling than our words.” Otai picks out Kyazze as his best, especially after painting that birthday message on his body during KCCA’s 1-0 loss to Kitara at Lugogo on February 23.

Egesa recalls incidents where Kyazze’s colours painted the picture of what the fans felt when the team was struggling at the start of last season.

“Kyazze’s black-painted body sent a clear message to the KCCA management when the team struggled under coach Sergio Traguil.”

The trio believe that the involvement of super fans in live broadcasts will only increase, especially on side-pitch interviews for entertainment, as they shape discussions and hold influence over their large followings. 

Super fans like Kyazze have stood out but there are others, especially in football; Villa and Kampala Queens have Richard Byaruhanga, Nec has Akena, Kitende franchises have Joseph ‘Kamodo’ Muwonge, Bul has Sula, Mama Becca (RIP) formerly of Express and several others. These fans have also helped curb hooliganism by channeling passion into positive fan engagement.

Last year, MTN Uganda marked their return to sponsor the Uganda Cranes with a competition code-named "MTN Fayaa" where about nine super fans and their crews competed to be the main cheerleaders for Uganda Cranes.

Renowned super fan Jackson Ssewanyana alias Uncle Money won with over 40,000 votes as Kamodo and his crew came second. The top three were all picked to lead the fans as they received Shs5m each.