Coca Cola vs EABL…the fight for the non-alcoholic beverage market.

I watched with anticipated breath as EABL launched into the non alcohol beverage sector. They hadn’t been successful before with Malta Guinness the drink that is a big hit in West Africa. Riding on the wave of Guinness which was making inroads into East Africa proved not to be very successful for the brand. The new product was a drink called Alvaro which Diageo needed to test market in one of their  African markets.

Positioned to target the ABC1 urbanites Alvaro has been an unprecedented success in Nairobi. It has a swet taste coming in the pineapple and pear flavours but is a classier drink than your normal soda which is mass market. According to EABL they have sold over 7 million bottles and thier whole year target was 9 million bottles. That should be enough to instill fear in Coca Cola and all other beverage companies. Granted Alvaro is quite new and still needs to grow in the market the uptake of the brand should be enough to challenge Coca Cola’s dominance.

So my question remains what is Coca Cola going to do to keep in check Alvaro’s rise in this market. So far Coca Cola launched burn – an energy drink  and a 50 million shilling promotion but i dont that will counter Alvaro’s growth in this market. Time to watch wait and see but for the very first time EABL has gotten the non alcoholic beverage right. As some preacher said recently Christians in this country have been waiting for a long time to partake from EABL’s table, with Alvaro thier wait has be amplty rewarded.

I just wonder how Coca Cola will counter the rise of Alvaro… i guess only time will tell.

Is Premier League killing Nigerian football?

By Andrew Walker BBC News, Abuja

About 30,000 Nigerians took advantage of a rare chance to see their football heroes in action on Sunday, as Manchester United beat Portsmouth 2-1 in a friendly in the capital, Abuja.

Nigerians are mad for the Premiership, not so crazy about their own leagues

The attendance was higher than for many games between local teams and while the popularity of the Premier League grows in Nigeria, it seems to be at the expense of the domestic league.

Observers say the future is bleak for Nigerian football, with all its brightest stars being drawn to Europe, while its own clubs wither and die, watched by fewer and fewer people.

The coach of FC Abuja says the league officials need to change the time of their matches to avoid Premiership fixtures.

“Whenever we play at the same time as an Arsenal game, nobody shows up,” says Abdu Maikaba.

Shrinking crowds

Attendances are already very low.

In a country of 140 million people, where crowds will stop and watch amateurs playing in the park, professional league games struggle to get more than 20,000 paying fans to come on match days.

If they can make it so we can play on a day before or after Arsenal, that would be a start Abdu Maikada Coach, FC Abuja

Tony Collins is from Anambra State in south-eastern Nigeria – and he supports Manchester United.

“I like Man Utd because they’re winners. Actually I like any club that wins in Europe. Nigerians like winners, we’re simple people. Nigerian clubs? Can you really compare? They’re rubbish, I don’t waste my time with that.”

Only one or two teams have the following to sell out their home grounds, says Ismaila Lere, sports editor at the Daily Trust newspaper.

“When you look at the stadiums you’ll find that the stands are virtually empty, while the bars and the joints that have satellite TV are full. People will pay to watch the Premier League on TV but not to watch Nigerian football live,” he says.

The trouble started back in the early 1990s, he says.

Economic reforms meant many teams went bust and were not able to pay their players.

Those players started looking towards Europe for employment.

Initially, they went to Italy and Germany.

Obsession

Most Nigerians first got wind of the Premier League when Celestine Babayaro joined Chelsea in 1997.

“In the 1980s, I was the only person in my area who was watching English football,” Mr Lere says.

This is a rare chance to see Kanu play in Nigeria

Now Nigerians are, like most of the world, obsessed with the English Premier League.

But in Nigeria the obsession is now going too far – after the Champions League final in May, seven people in Nigeria died in clashes between Manchester United and Chelsea fans.

And many young players want to play in the lucrative leagues in Europe.

“When a player won’t even be paid £1,000 ($2,000) per month in Nigeria, but can get £1,000 a week in Europe, what do you expect?” says Tukur Babangida, Chairman of Kano Pillars, this year’s champions in Nigeria’s top league.

He says that players moving to Europe is a good thing.

“Young people are inspired by the Premier League, it spurs them on to play, and the money the teams get when they move to Europe is good for the clubs.”

‘Globalisation’

But Mr Lere disagrees.

He says corruption is rife in the Nigerian league and means that money never gets to clubs’ coffers.

“There is no accountability in the sport here. Players won’t see the balance of their salaries and transfer fees go straight into people’s pockets.”

The governor told his own team to lose by four goals Ismaila Lere Nigerian sports journalist

The coach of Kano Pillars resigned at the end of this winning season, sick of the corruption.

Clubs are run by state governments and are viewed as the personal possession of the state governor.

Match-fixing is rife, Mr Lere says.

In one instance, the governor of one state asked another to throw a key match.

“The second governor told his team to lose by four goals,” says Mr Lere.

It is little wonder that people do not bother watching Nigerian league football.

If current trends continue, everyone will support a Premier League team and forget about their local sides, Mr Lere says.

“It’s part of globalisation. Football is not immune to that.”

Supporters do not seem to care that the sides they support are not Nigerian.

“You can see I’m an Arsenal fan by the hat on my head,” says Godwin Sunday, a 27-year-old labourer in Abuja.

He and his friends play football in their lunch break with a soft deflated ball and bare feet or broken shoes.

“I won’t be going to the match on Sunday but I never miss a Premier League match,” he says.

“Would I go to a Nigerian game? No. The Arsenal are too much better.”

Abu Maikaba says the Nigerian Football League need to change their schedule urgently.

“If they can make it so we play on a day before or after Arsenal, that will be a start.”

copyright :- news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7526005.stm

Seems its not only in Kenya where the domestic league is suffering…

Grand Regency…a scam or just playing politics?

Well in the news we have been hearing about Grand Regency, the grand scam as some Station put it yesterday though i still wonder is it a new scam, is there any corruption in it? Or is it time for MP’s to flex thier muscles and threaten censure so as to justify thier large salaries?

Granted to me the normal Kenyan,  the sale of Grand Regency is not a big issue. If the value of the asset was what it is according to prevailing rates then by all means sell it. I have been to the Grand Regency and i do  know what the politicians are not telling you. It is not a five star hotel more like a 4 star hotel. So if its as a result of  Goldenburg then sell the hotel and proceeds to be used to supplement the budget. As for the buyer being the Libyan Government, its fine by me we have seen soverign funds Asia buying shareholdings in some of the world’s largest banks so it hardly raises an eyebrow. If they have the money they can pay why not?

Its quite laughable that Cyrus Jirongo would lead a procession to protest the sale as grand corruption, while he has been accused of many corrupt deals in the past and never did explain himself. I do question the sincerelity of any of our MP’s who are wolves in sheep clothing. Chris Okemo was one of those who have many dealings that cannot be explained and he says he has the moral authority to judge another!!!

As for Kimunya if he got the best price by all means!!! i support him, whover the buyer was i dont care lets move on to other things which are more constructive for our country.

I keep wondering why cant we ever give politicians a black out?