The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, also known as The San Siro, is a football stadium in Milan, Italy, which is home to both A.C. Milan and Inter Milan.
Odd? Not odd at all. That’s what MTN Uganda’s Val Okecho tells you should you ask about MTNs sponsorship of two different clubs competing in the same football tier.
“Our sponsorship is evidence of a passionate corporate company supporting two clubs that have a rich footballing heritage boasting of the countries biggest and most passionate fan base”, said Val Okecho, Corporate Communications Manager for MTN Uganda.
KCCA is struggling in their away matches with only one win, one draw and three loses out of their last five games on the road. This is a stark difference from their home form that has seen them notch four wins and one draw out of five games played at the Star Times Stadium.
The twelve time league champions will tell you form is temporary and class permanent. This has been indeed the case as they became the first club in Ugandas history to progress to the CAF Champions League group stage.
“In fact, if resources could allow, we would be supporting more clubs!” stated Val as he organised his desk on Friday evening before going to officially start his weekend.
The hosts Onduparaka home form has not been the best for a club that prides itself in having a strong fan base; they’ve collected seven out of fifteen points from their last five games at the Greenlight Stadium. They will therefore have to dig deep, either from the push of their passionate fans or their hard-working players who never seem to run out of steam.
With KCCA currently 2nd on the table with 44 points, only five points shy of 1st placed Villa who have played two extra games, it will be a game they will not want to lose, irrespective of their away form, as they look forward to both local and continental glory.
With two wins, they should be back at the summit of the league table, something that Coach Mike Mutebi will only be too aware of. KCCAs midfielder Allan Okello, who scored both goals in their last 2-0 home win against the UPDF, should be one to watch.
“The beautiful game is one of the avenues that we associate with in engaging with Ugandans at the most personal of levels where passion and desire is best witnessed both on the pitch by players and in the stands by fans” he continued as he stepped out of Nyonyi Gardens as the sun set.
With their former coach Livingstone Mbabazi gone, Arua based Onduparaka will be hoping the new coach Simeon Masaba, who was formerly the assistant coach, can turn things around in this must win game. They head into this game fifth on the table and 12 points adrift the league leaders.
As he stretches his hand to bid me bye, he asks: “So, will I see you in Arua for the MTN Derby?”
“Of course!” I quickly say, turning the would be handshake into a high five.
Arua will be ‘lit’ as the millenials put it to describe a not-to-be-missed event. While the game in the North of Uganda on the afternoon of Tuesday 17th April 2018 will not be played in a shared stadium like The San Siro, it will be interesting to see who comes out tops in this game featuring two teams with mixed form but similar sponsors in MTN Uganda.
