If any of you are avid soccer fans, you’ll know that the Africa Cup Of Nations is now taking place in Egypt. Soccer fans in Egypt get crazy, so I did not attempt to attend a game at the stadium, but one of my old friends and college professors came all the way from the United States to cheer on his native country and so I’ve been a little more in the loop of things happening at the “place of action.” Undoubtedly, Egypt winning the chance of hosting such an event is bringing lots of positive affects on the economy of this country. Just looking around, the streets are filled with tourists from different countries; and this time they are here not to see the great ancient monuments of this land – although if they can fit that in, they do try to make a stop at the pyramids – but they are here as sporting event tourists. Egypt has been known to attract tourists seeking cultural history, then religious history and in the last 15 years or so also many tourists seeking geographical and underwater marvels or even just relaxation at the beaches of the Red Sea in Sinai. But sporting events – that’s fairly new. Or should I say: it’s the first time it’s been so noticeable. Hotels are offering special rates for fans from different countries. Transportation (the respectable ones) companies are offering improved service and rates. Mobile phone service companies have good short term plans for visitors. Even the prepaid calling cards are shaped like a soccer ball instead of the traditional square card! Fast food chains are promoting a variety of gifts with purchase to take with you to the game: a water bottle or a fanny pack, a hat or even a portable headphone radio shaped like a soccer ball! Everyone on the streets is aware of what the big event is and how to welcome the tourists/fans; they know the score of their teams and encourage them, therefore maybe getting them to come back again and again to explore more of this country.
As a bystander, I watched how Pepsi-Cola put up huge banners around the capital announcing the Africa Cup of Nations and its sponsorship for such a loved sport. Hisham Abbas – a famous Egyptian singer and AUC graduate – either seized the opportunity or was asked to and came up with a very catchy song for the event that announced to everyone that it’s time to pay attention to the games and show some spirit!! Other artists soon followed suit but his song was the catchiest and the most sports-oriented. The music video featured Egyptian soccer fans – the traditional guys AND girls this time too – with faces painted with the flag, red, white and black Dr. Zeuss hats, rubber fingers – all having a grand ole’ time! Face paint and paraphernalia other than the traditional flag holding is not customary here, but soon it seemed the fans liked the idea, and you could find these items, with the Egyptian flag on it, sold by the street vendors. Seeing a soccer fan walking down the street with his face painted is no longer strange. And most of all, loud female fans competing with their male counterparts became more apparent on the streets of Cairo! Fans of a different type came out from in front of their TV’s at home to cheer on their favorite team LIVE at the stadiums around the nation. One song and the joy of hosting such a high-profile sporting event brought about a lot of positive changes in the youth of Egypt. Everyone seemed “into” the sport, cheered in a more colorful manner and was more respecting of others, especially the other gender, coming to join in the fun. Through my friend, I heard about the vibe at the stadium here in Cairo as well as in Port Said. People cheering on good teams other than their own just for the good game they played. It felt like finally the country is making the best out of an opportunity given to it.
After a few days, while shopping for souvenirs from Egypt in Khan El Khalili area, my friend mentioned to me that he couldn’t find any t-shirts with the Africa Cup Of Nations logo printed on it. As any true fan who has made his way in the middle of the school semester all the way from the US to attend the games, he wanted to have something as a remembrance of this event, an “I was there!” sign with the logo on it to show off to people. Nothing! Not available! Try at a different event! Maybe even try to make your own! With all the hoopla made that WE were SELECTED to host the games, whoever is in charge failed to make the best of this opportunity at the simplest retail level. Now, with different eyes, remembering my advertising roots and leaving behind the simple bystander mentality, I looked around and noticed the lack of a true promotional campaign for this highly anticipated event. The first time I even saw the logo for the Africa Cup Of Nations was on a banner at the entrance of the hotel I was picking my friend up from after the games had already started! Other than the song Hisham Abbas got us going with and some TV shows discussing the upcoming soccer cup, where was all the publicity? Looking at the paper, you saw all the inserts for fast food stores offering a gift with purchase. If you went to some of the hotels, you felt the soccer fans’ vibe. But was there an official promotional campaign for the Africa Cup Of Nations??
If there was, I completely missed it. If this was not a soccer-loving nation, I might have missed the occurrence of the event altogether. Who was in charge? I’m sure; following tradition, there was a competition to come up with the logo for the soccer cup. But once that was established and once the hosting country was selected, did the government or the Soccer Union of Africa or whoever the powers of B are assign the promotional campaign to a professional agency? Maybe the Africa Cup Of Nations has its own PR department?? I did not see any commercials on TV nor radio nor in print announcing the event. I did not see where one can buy tickets (other than right at the stadium) – did they think of offering special deals on tickets if you buy the whole series or the series of a specific team? So maybe there are more complicated issues associated with that, but what about paraphernalia with the logo on them? T-shirts, hats, soccer balls, key chains, face paint, teddy bears, whistles, goggles, flags, pens, cups, water bottles….need I go on? Why didn’t anyone think of making money off of that? Isn’t that like “the ABC” of outdoor event sales? The simple street vendors caught on to the ideas thrown out in Hisham Abbas’ music video and all of a sudden you could see them selling that stuff to you from your car window, but the official PR department or agency and everyone else assigned to make this a successful and profitable event couldn’t think of that? Do you think a tourist would rather be harassed by a street vendor that he has to haggle with than buy a souvenir from a respectable outlet at the stadium or on the street? Why does any country want to host sporting events? Is it just for the prestige? Of course not – it means a boost to the economy. Countries spend millions of dollars to build stadiums, etc. to host the Olympics for example because they know that they will not only get their money back but millions more – as well as gain prestige and the chance to host more events. Campaigning starts months in advance. Every detail is planned for. It’s good to know what we need to try for. It’s good to know that we got it! It’s good to know that it brings in money for the country. But it’s important to see beyond the broad lines of income such as hotel rooms, transportation and food. Once you’ve got them here (and who knows how many more would have come had there been enough publicity), think of all that you can do!
