Uganda Cranes: From using Inter Milan jerseys to powerful brand

Their view is shared by everyone who watched him including eccentric ex-Cranes winger Sam Ssimbwa who is only comfortable in comparing Omondi to legends Pele and Diego Maradona.

Imagine the kind of sponsorship deals that the latter pair would command today. That they played in the ‘wrong’ era is the bold conclusion. The same goes for Omondi.

At his peak, in the 70s, when he led Cranes to the final of the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations, sport had not yet been vulgarized by commercialization.

And it’s not that commercialization is a bad thing entirely which has left sport with no soul. In fact, it has been a great thing for sport beyond creating ‘demi-gods’.

Omondi, known to have had a drinking problem like the late Northern Irish great George Best, and his mates only relied on government handouts propagated by the then president Idi Amin Dada.

For today’s sportsmen, government handouts are almost irrelevant, except in Africa. In Omondi’s time, despite all the impurities, that’s all they had.

Today, the only major monument of the greatest footballer, a unanimous opinion of those who watched Omondi, is the Philip Omondi Stadium, Lugogo.

It’s a brand that his former club KCCA is trying to push or revive. KCCA launched an annual preseason tournament in his honour – the Philip Omondi Invitational tournament – this year.

The stadium itself shares no architectural comparison with Inter Milan’s Giuseppe Meazza, Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu or Rio de Janeiro’s Estádio Olímpico João Havelange.

Everyone in the cities of Milan, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and beyond can relate to those names. This kind of branding is something the world learnt at the time when Omondi’s was in descent.
His well-documented drinking problem, like Best, led to his eventual death in 1999 coincided with Uganda Cranes’ fading as a brand, if it was at all before that.

Inter Milan strip
In 2000, the national team wore a replica of the Inter Milan strip at the regional Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup inviting aUS$2, 000 fine (then Shs3.5m) from continental body Caf.

You will forgive the occupants of the national body Fufa at the time. They must have had no clue about where the world was or was destined to go.

Few even bothered to walk into Owino Market, adjacent to Nakivubo where the dreadful was bought. There was nothing to be proud of.
The market also provided socks and there was no shame in a team not wearing socks of a single colour. Jerseys and socks were perhaps the lesser evils.

We have all heard of stories of allowances not being paid (this continues to this day), the team travelling by a mini-bus and so on.

There were few positives to cover up for administrative flaws. This started to change when in the mid-2000s when Lawrence Mulindwa became Fufa president.

Not only did he promise an immediate Nations Cup qualification, his federation put the national team at the centre of their brand and marketing campaigns.

Though this was done while sinking the local football clubs, the Cranes found new wings to fly. Fans started to want to be associated with the team.

In the endless wrangles that have riddled the game here, Cranes remained insulated from the chaos, whether deliberately or not.
Many Ugandans have since bought national teams jerseys that it didn’t matter when Fufa changed the strip from yellow to red. Some wear them to work.

Even if the team has failed to hit the heights of Omondi, Ugandans take pride in the Cranes and it’s has become a symbol of unity.
Politicians, the greatest people in smelling an opportunity to be seen with the crowd, have jumped in to. Same goes for all kinds of entertainers.

Jose Chameleone and Bebe Cool, arguably the two biggest musicians in Uganda over the past two decades, have a song and an ambassadorial role respectively for the team.

At the pinnacle is something Omondi never enjoyed, being paid to appear in adverts for various corporate companies.
Midfielder Tony Mawejje is seen sipping Rwenzori Water on numerous giant billboards. Striker Emmanuel Okwi joined musician Cindy in an Airtel ad.

Others have since joined in the craze. You have seen at least five players in promos done for Airtel, Nile Special and BUL Bidco, the three main backers of Fufa.

It emphasizes the star power modern sportsmen even though Uganda is a pale comparison to what individuals like Cristiano Ronaldo or clubs like Barcelona command.

According to Kiyingi, there is no club side in the world that Omondi couldn’t walk into. Imagine what such would do with this for his and the Cranes’ brand.

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