WHO BENEFITS MOST FROM KOGALO’S TUZO SPONSORSHIP?

This year, the most talked about issue among the fans of K’Ogalo, has been the Tuzo sponsorship to the club to the tune of a whooping Kshs. 38 million for a period of two years.

At first, the sponsorship was warmly received especially after K’Ogalo’s arch-rivals, AFC Leopards, received their sponsorship from Mumias Sugar Co. Ltd. K’Ogalo fans were heard grumbling that their club was being left behind when almost all the main football clubs in the country seemed to be getting corporate sponsorship from the left, right and centre.

However, the excitement dissipated quickly when it started emerging that there several details had either not been properly thought out or had not been properly explained to the fans. The question was, and still is, who benefits most? Is it the club or the sponsors?

This issue was compounded further when it was revealed that the team jerseys, traditionally green and white, had been slightly altered. The exact shade of green had not been achieved. Tuzo and Legea, responded to this outcry by stating that the jerseys’ manufacturers, Legea, did not have the exact shade in their catalogue and had opted to use the shade in their catalogue temporarily till the end of the season with the assurance that this problem would be sorted out come next season.

All this is balderdash. Nowhere in the world do shirt manufacturers come up with their own colours which are even slightly different from those of the team they are clothing. This does not just happen. The colours must match with the team colours. Period.

So, once again who has benefited the most?

Definitely, it is not Kogalo. The main beneficiaries here have been first, Tuzo and secondly, Legea. Tuzo have been the biggest beneficiaries for the sole reason that these days Gor Mahia is mentioned in the same sentence with Tuzo. Gor Mahia and Tuzo are mentioned in the same breath.

It may be impossible to quantify this benefit to Tuzo in terms of the sales they have made since they started sponsoring the club. How many litres of milk have they sold? How many of these buyers are Kogalo fans? How many fans of Kogalo have shifted their loyalty to Tuzo from other milk brands in the market?

The sad inescapable fact for the Kogalo fans is this: the sponsorship deal will still run for one more year. We probably, still have to bear with them.

Hopefully, the club has learnt. The next sponsorship Kogalo enters into, has to be beneficial to the club first and foremost. Sponsors are not bigger than a club, especially when that club is Kogalo.

No disrespect to Tuzo but Kogalo must be respected for its achievements. Kogalo is older and wildly known compared to Tuzo. If this partnership is to go beyond the projected two years, then Kogalo’s concerns, especially that of its fans, must be taken on board.