The tough job of marketing Namibian football

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

WINDHOEK



Being a marketer or a public relations officer within a financially stretched Namibian football fraternity is a challenge, says former NPL spokesperson and Orlando Pirates marketing manager Andre Gariseb.

Gariseb felt the baptism of fire within his 14-month tenure as the PRO of the NPL.

“It gave me a better understanding about corporate governance, policy frameworks and legal systems.

“Although it is a pivotal role I stumbled upon, my six years' administrative work experience at Orlando Pirates football club in a way prepared me to take on PR and marketing responsibilities,” Gariseb said.



Challenges

Gariseb's analysis of Namibian football indicates that the set-up is mostly focused on the technical part of the game.

He says the bulk of the resources and attention is spent on the activities on the pitch.

“Most of the football structures do not have organisational structures consisting of administrative offices and key workforce, including office admin, HR, finance / bookkeeping, marketing / busines development, public relations / event management. “Without a marketing budget and supporting departmental team, I was required to do the PR and marketing for the entire league and the matches, and to ensure league sponsors' branding was up at all the matches that were played in six different stadiums around the country,” Gariseb stated.

Another counterproductive challenge which he believes makes the job even more difficult is the ongoing internal divergences amongst the football leadership.

The dissension resulted in the league being suspended by the Football Association during his tenure.

“All these factors made it extremely not easy to market the league effectively.

“Although my employment contract with NPL ended on 31 May 2020, the League still owes me my salary payment for April and May.”

Gariseb is currently serving as public juror on the National Arts Council of Namibia's Arts & Culture Covid-19 Relief Fund Selection Committee.

He added that in order to guarantee the future of all sport in Namibia, the sector need to implement fundamental business principles.



What needs to change

For too long, football clubs have not followed the basic principles of running an institution effectively, Gariseb believes .

Firstly, he urges clubs to establish dedicated administrative offices to run the day-to-day activities related to financial planning, record keeping, billing, personnel, physical distribution and logistics.

“Secondly, build on vital capacity by employing a skilled administrative team who knows what they are doing.

“Thirdly, invest in the marketing and sale of promotional merchandise (replicas), membership for supporters and match tickets to help generate the needed revenue. Players are assets and these assets must be made to 'sweat' and to generate income, both on and off the field.”

Players as club ambassadors can help engage the community through social outreach such as coaching clinics, motivational talks at schools, meet-and-greets and brand activations with sponsors, Gariseb said. “Fourthly, always maintain a good working relationship with key stakeholders, sponsors, the media and the community.”