INTERNATIONAL BUILD UP MATCH: 30TH AUG 2016 – Uganda Cranes Vs Kenya
AFCON GROUP D QUALIFIER: 3RD SEPT 2016 – Uganda Cranes Vs Comoros
Uganda Cranes’ official beverage sponsor Nile Special on Monday launched a fan-rallying campaign, code named “Cranes Na Mutima – Tulumbe” .
This is ahead of the team’s must-win Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Comoros on Saturday, 3 September at Nelson Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.
The launch was attended by Uganda Cranes head coach, Milutin Sredejovic, FUFA 3rd Vice President Dennis Mbidde as well as two players Dennis Okot Oola and Joseph Ochaya.
“As major sponsors of the Cranes, our duty at this moment is to rally nation-wide support for the Cranes. For quite some time we have rallied the nation to support the Cranes with passion through our Cranes Na Mutima campaign, so this game is the crescendo of it all.” said the NBL Marketing Director Daniel Ogong.
Mbidde commended Nile Special for the continued support throughout the Gabon 2017 AFCON qualification campaign stating that, “The fans have been great throughout the campaign partly due to Nile Special’s unrelenting efforts to rally fans behind the team. They have indeed pushed the Cranes thus far. But there’s one more crucial step to go and we request one more strong push to get the team over the line.”
As part of the Cranes Na Mutima – Tulumbe campaign, Ugandans will be required to demonstrate that they are part of the team by donning their national team jerseys every Friday till game-day. This is what has been termed as “#CranesJerseyFridays”
Several fans that adhere to this call will win match tickets and several Nile Special giveaways in country-wide activations.
The other component of the campaign are the upcountry fan-parks at which the game will be screened live.
Nile Special seeks to duplicate the Namboole atmosphere in three upcountry towns that’s; Mbale-Cricket Grounds, Mbarara-Independence Grounds and Lira-Mayor’s Gardens.
Commenting on the two aspects of the campaign Mr. Ogong stated that, “We understand that not all Ugandans can be at Namboole.
But we are saying there’re several ways one can support without stepping in Namboole, from the comfort of your home, at the office or any other work station by pulling on that jersey.
Regarding the fan-parks, the objective is to ensure that the Namboole-like atmosphere is replicated in other parts of the country. In fact we shall do everything possible to ensure the ambiance at the fan parks beats that at Namboole,” promised Mr. Ogong.
Cranes is currently second in Group D and needs to win the last qualification tie against Comoros Island on 3rd September at Namboole Stadium to secure qualification for the Africa Nations Cup for the first time in 39 years.
