Airtel Uganda has today renewed its ongoing partnership with the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) as the official sponsor of Uganda’s national football team, the Uganda Cranes. This will see Airtel contribute a total of 10 billion shillings towards the Uganda Cranes for the next 4 years that is 2.5 billion shillings every year.
The Airtel – FUFA partnership, that has come to be known as Uganda’s most successful football partnership ever, begun in 2013 under an agreement that the two parties will be working hand in hand to promote Ugandan football for a period of four years by sponsoring not only the main national team, but also the Uganda Cup and the FUFA Big League – tournaments that feed talent into the national team.
Representing the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Charles Bakkabulindi, the State Minister for Sports commended Airtel Uganda for fulfilling the promise to continue supporting Ugandan football.
“The Uganda Cranes team has earned admiration for their skill and the dedication they bring to the game of football. We are grateful to see an international brand like Airtel sharing the passion and love that we have for this team by sponsoring them,” he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the press conference to announce the sponsorship, Airtel Uganda Managing Director Mr. V.G. Somasekhar expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to continue sponsoring the national team.
“Since we signed the partnership agreement with the Uganda Cranes national team, we have enjoyed a long list of successes both for the team and for the individual players. To us, this is an indication that a strong partner that believes in you is a key component of success,” he commented, adding that this sponsorship signifies an opportunity to support the nation’s best football team and to celebrate Uganda’s rich and competitive culture, as well as love for the beautiful game.
“We remain committed to the development of Ugandan football right from the grassroots community level all the way to the international scene,” he concluded.
Airtel Uganda remains a major contributor to Ugandan football. Aside from sponsoring the Uganda Cranes, the Uganda Cup and the FUFA Big League, the telco also identifies talented players and gives them a platform to join football clubs in and out of Uganda through the Airtel Rising Stars, a youth talent searching and nurturing tournament. Airtel also recently signed on as the main sponsor of the Masaza Cup, a Buganda kingdom football tournament.