Sports tourism and sponsorships as a catalyst of development and job creation

A man takes part in the Maralal International Camel Derby. The event aims to promote peaceful co-existence through cultural diversity sports, tourism and conservation. PHOTO| AYUB MUIYURO

What you need to know:

  • Sports brings out leadership focus in women and the youth which creates nations to excel in Africa.

  • Kenya and Ethiopia are global giants in athletics with Kenya dominating long distance running in the last 70 years.

  • Water sports, indoor games, rally, mountain climbing, are all experience sports that should be grown and expanded to accommodate more people to spectate, manage and participate.

According to the 2017 revised edition of the United Nations World Population Prospect, Africa’s population will double up to 2.5 billion by 2050.

Most African countries need to plan and upscale partnerships for the education, health, youth programmes and security needs of their citizens. 

Some of the countries with high unemployment in Africa – Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Senegal, Kenya and the Republic of Congo, all need to create opportunities in the likes of sports tourism and entrepreneurship dynamics. 

No wonder we keep seeing young men try to escape the dehumanising reality of unemployment for presumed green pastures in Europe.

They risk everything to travel through an unforgiving desert, only to be packed on a ship to an uninviting Europe.

INSECURITY

Many have died in the Mediterranean Sea and, indeed, this remains a sad scenario for the world.

This can get worse when you consider that 60 per cent of the population in Africa is under the age of 25. To stop crime and insecurity in countries like South Africa, terrorism in the Horn of Africa, leaders must take a more aggressive and proactive approach to instigate mitigating measures.

One area is sports tourism that African leaders can actively grow. It can absorb millions of youths who are unemployed, direct and indirectly. Despite the immense athletic endowment, African sports have the greatest talent and potential and this has been demonstrated many times with award winning athletic performances. Sports brings out leadership focus in women and the youth which creates nations to excel in Africa.

Some of the best African athletes have to ply their trade in Europe, the Middle-East and in the United States, because of lack of infrastructure, poor appreciation of their talent and lack of good compensation for their talent.

GOOD INFRASTRUCTURE

But let us pause and really focus on what good sports infrastructure can do to competitive sports and tourism.

Countries like Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire are football powerhouses on the continent with the African Cup of Nations medals to show for it, but other than Egypt and South Africa, the sub-Saharan countries still have limited sporting facilities that hardly retain top talent for the continent.

Kenya and Ethiopia are global giants in athletics with Kenya dominating long distance running in the last 70 years. But Kenyans and Ethiopians mostly run in western cities and there aren’t top athletics competitions that regularly attract global audiences as, say, the London, Boston or Berlin marathons.

Yet, the few moments when IAAF decides to hold a tournament in Africa, there are enthusiastic supporters who prove to us that, if well developed, there are as many fans and fanatics who can sustain the competitions as we have seen in the two instances Kenya has hosted the IAAF championships in Kenya.

SUCCESS

The IAAF World Under 18 Championships in Nairobi were a smashing success as was the 35th IAAF World Cross Championships held in Mombasa 10 years ago. I single out Kenya right in the heart of Africa as having a great opportunity in sports. We can  build new global partnerships with the private sector and gain a winning formula for sponsorships that will be mutually beneficial for all stakeholders.

Sports are a source of much national pride and can be an antidote for war-torn countries like Angola that hosted the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

 Equatorial Guinea, one of the most closed countries in the world – largely poor – has been a host and the co-host of the tournament in 2012 and 2015 respectively. The two tournaments were a great boost to their economy and must have employed many people from the host countries and created awareness of tourism opportunities.

Only football and athletics are seen as well developed in Africa, yet there are several other sports that can be developed to make Africa competitive at the global stage.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING

Water sports, indoor games, rally, mountain climbing, are all experience sports that should be grown and expanded to accommodate more people to spectate, manage and participate.

The benefits are immense. Beyond reducing unemployment rates drastically, there is national pride and patriotism to be cherished plus amazing talent developed right at home in Africa.

Through sports, we can increase intra-African travel that has so much potential with the recent visa free flows to ease movement of people and grow the African citizens’ exchange of culture and relations. Granted, there has been talk about a single African passport, regionally more countries have opened borders to their neighbours.

Still direct flights between nations will greatly make Africa one stronger continent. Presently, most Africans are forced to connect through Europe when going to some African countries.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, on his inauguration, opened his borders to all Africans who can now receive a visa on arrival and can live and work in Kenya. This a step in the right direction, given that Kenya has some of the best air, sea and land infrastructure and is a major hub connecting Africa to the rest of the world.

Chris Diaz is director on Brand Kenya and Brand Africa boards