Kenya hosts the 17th African Senior Athletics championships between July 28 and August 1 and hopes to benefit as a country

he impact of development of sport into a money-spinning venture that can leave a lasting economic stimulus as legacy has not been lost on countries bidding to host major events worldwide.

Countries have engaged in bidding wars to host competitions such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, African Nations Cup, IAAF World Championships in Athletics and IAAF World Cross Country Championships. The CAA African Athletics Championships are no exception.

Since 1979 when Dakar hosted the first edition of what is now a biennial event, African countries have jostled to host the showdown that will take place in Nairobi from July 28 to August 1.

A number of factors have precipitated African cities to bid for the event including political/social reasons and as a stepping stone to larger events as exemplified by South Africa who held the 1993 championships when they emerged out of apartheid.

South Africa went on to win the rights to stage other key sporting carnivals beginning with the  IRB Rugby World Cup (1995), the  CAN Nations Cup (1996),  World Cross Country (1999) and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

SHOWCASE

However, the overriding interest of host cities is to showcase their commercial wares as an investment option as well as stimulating economic growth.

For the Seventeenth CAA Africa Athletics Championships, Kenya budgeted for $5m (Ksh400m) to stage the event last held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with the government footing half the bill.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) was required to source the balance from grants from the continental governing body, CAA and more importantly, the nation’s business fraternity by entering into commercial sponsorship agreements.

Kenya’s leading mobile telephone service provider Safaricom won the rights as title sponsors in a deal worth $293,750 (Ksh23.5m) that also includes telecommunications support for Nairobi 2010.

The National Bank of Kenya, weighed in with $250,000 (Ksh20m) in cash that elevated them to sponsorship status alongside national carrier Kenya Airways  whose package is worth $268,000 (KSh20.6m).

The airline’s deal was sponsorship in kind as it conceded to subsidise travel costs for all accredited competitors and officials who will attend Nairobi 2010 at 20 per cent of ticket costs from its 39 destinations across Africa.
Other Kenyan firms were lined up to join the Nairobi 2010 bandwagon by the end of June as organisers announced a potential $1.25m (Ksh100m) budgetary deficit although they were quick to allay concerns the shortfall would impair the event.

“We in athletics do not hide the facts. We have a deficit of Ksh150m ($1.875m) but we are working on reducing the figure by doing away with unnecessary expenses and the shortfall could come to Sh100m ($1.25m),” Mr Isaiah Kiplagat, the chair of the event’s Local Organising Committee revealed at a function in June.

“However, we shall host a successful event even if this means auctioning everything we have,” he said. With the $5m outlay for the event, a small fortune by Kenyan standards for a sports event, organisers, government and corporate backers anticipate an economic stimulus for Nairobi just as happened to the coastal city of Mombasa when it hosted the 2007 World Cross Country Championships.

TOURIST

“For sure, Mombasa held its own as a world class tourist destination before the World Cross but since then some visitors who spent their time there during that period have returned for holidays and we hope the same will apply to Nairobi 2010,” LOC’s Marketing Director, Sue Omanga told DEA.

Apart from sponsors who will get preference in displaying their products/services to the projected 2,000 visitors who will converge in Nairobi for the event, other firms are waiting to cash in on the boom.

“I hope fans and competitors who come to this event spend more than what we make during football matches and athletics events held at this stadium,” Calvin Omondi, who hawks a variety of consumer goods including  sodas, peanuts, confectionery and mobile phone scratch cards at Nyayo National Stadium that will host the championships said.

A number of Nairobi hotels are set to  do good business by accommodating athletes, officials and fans. They are Intercontinental (IAAF and CAA family) Sarova Panafric, Hill Park, Ole Sereni and Red Court (athletes), Sarova Stanley (international technical officials), Jacaranda Hotel (local officials) and West Breeze (media)