By Joachim Arrey
Football, a passion and a religion in Africa, could be a major factor in Africa’s hard and long struggle towards job creation and economic development if government policymakers stop viewing it as more of an entertainment and less of an economic activity. In many rich countries of the North like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal, sporting activities are, incontestably, economic activities not only for those who are directly involved in the sports, but also for those who invest their money and time in them. In the United States, France, Britain and Canada; basketball, golf, hockey and other forms of sports have not only made of the players millionaires, they have also given those who invested in this sector of the economy a true return for their investments.
This write-up seeks to suggest that football, which appears to be a religion in Africa, can give African economies a shot in the arm if it is professionalized and commercialized. It also seeks to serve as food-for-thought for policymakers and planners on the continent who have been grappling with the issue of economic growth and prosperity.
We will use Cameroon, in this write-up, to underscore how football could be a great economic booster if all the necessary investments are made and the required regulations are taken and applied properly. It should, however, be indicated that success in this economic sector will depend largely on how sincere and serious the government is when it comes to considering football as a vital source of revenue for both the government and the players.
Towards Job Creation And Economic Growth
Over the last five decades, football has been a major source of entertainment in Cameroon. During this time, it has always been considered as the number one sports event and, without any exaggeration, it is a religion, which has been embraced by children, mothers and fathers without difficulties. In seeking to cheer up their players, many fans travel with their teams on bad roads over thousands of miles just to provide the morale boost their players need. These fans use up their little and hard-earned incomes just to ensure that their cash-strapped teams stay in the competition.
At the national level, football is the only thing that wipes out all tribal demarcations that have emerged ever the last two decades as a result of nasty multiparty politics. In 1990, Cameroonians had to suspend their political demonstrations against the government’s political decisions that were suspected to be responsible for the hardship in the country when the national team set a new world record by defeating any team it met in its way in the 1990 football world cup, until a less convincing English team stopped it from doing further damage at the quarter finals. Despite the defeat, the national team players were given a hero’s welcome and after the welcoming of the players, the demonstration for political reforms within the country resumed.
Given the popularity of football in Cameroon, policymakers in this country should capitalize on this to make this sector dynamic, and money- and job-creating. From every indication, football is the only product that has helped to put Cameroon on the global map and the passion for football in this country tells even the most inexperienced policymaker that if decisions relating to the development of this sector of the economy are taken, the economic situation of many people will undergo drastic changes.
In order to make football an entertainer, a moneymaker and a job creator, the government has to be a leader in this sector when it comes to investing. Despite the popularity of football in Cameroon, this country cannot boast of good football infrastructure that can help generate money for the teams, the municipalities and the nation as a whole. Brand new, technology-equipped and modern stadiums with sitting capacities of at least one hundred thousand seats have to be built in the Cameroon’s big cities. Investing in the building of stadiums in Cameroon will never be a white elephant project given the love Cameroonians have for this ball game. If Cameroonian authorities were to secure more loans with a view to giving a new perspective and direction to football, I think the entire nation will be behind them for that will be one of their best investments, as the proceeds from such investments will be guaranteed. The passion that Cameroonians have for this ball game makes it a great avenue for investment, and regardless of the political and economic situation in the country, the demand for football as an entertaining sport and as an investment opportunity will always be elastic.
A simple calculation based on what obtains in this sector will provide a better picture of what football can do for that country’s battered economy. If Cameroon could boast of twenty stadiums with a sitting capacity of one hundred thousand, and assuming that entry tickets per match cost one thousand francs (1000 francs CFA), and also assuming that all the seats will be bought, a single first division match will bring in at least one hundred million francs CFA (100, 000, 000 francs CFA) into the economy. If this figure is multiplied by twenty matches that will be played in a day across the country, the economy will have a boost of about two billion francs CFA (2,000, 000,000 francs CFA) per day. It is necessary to mention that first division matches are played twice a week in Cameroon and these fields could also be used for second division matches which are played on different days.
Furthermore, it should be underscored that football revenue will not start and end with gate-takings. There will be commercials and television rights, which will help to bring in more revenue into the economy. If we think about what the fans across the country will spend on drinks, food, hotels and transportation whenever there is a match besides the purchase of their tickets, the Cameroonian economy will get a great shot in the arm on such days. Added to this, there will be expenditure on football gear. Fans will certainly like to identify with their teams, and most, if not all of them, will like to purchase the sports shirts, caps and shorts that their different teams will use for their matches.
Gate-takings, commercials and television rights earnings for each match, if shared depending upon any formula the government comes up with, will help to pay off any loans contracted – both domestic and foreign - to develop stadiums in record time, the different teams will have their own quarters which will enable them to run their teams professionally and treat their players properly, and the municipalities in which the stadiums will be built will be sure of a source of income, a percentage of the gate-takings, which will enable them to deliver some basic services to their communities.
Service delivery, no matter how little, will create jobs for a few trained staff. Players and others involved in football will generate spending, either by way of consumption or investment, and this will certainly trickle down to other segments of the society. This is certainly a small picture of the jobs that professional football will bring to the Cameroonian economy.
On a larger scale, the building of stadiums will create thousands of jobs across the country. There will be small companies that will provide services to the stadiums. Some will be in charge of cleaning the stadiums after and before matches, some will ensure that the fraud-checking state-of-the-art technology is properly maintained, some will be in charge of printing and marketing tickets with modern technology that will help them to reduce fraud and mismanagement to the barest minimum. All these little companies providing ancillary services will certainly employ income-earning workers and these workers will, in turn, spend their incomes within the system and on products from other sectors of the economy and that will help to keep the economy on the right path.
To further regulate the sector, the government can license a few sports gear companies to establish in Cameroon in order to meet the needs of the industry. To date, sports gears used in Cameroon are still produced out of the country and this is clearly costing the country huge amounts of foreign exchange, and many jobs in the sports gear sector are unconsciously exported to those countries that produce sports equipment for Cameroon.
To help the sports gear industry in Cameroon take root, tough new measures will need to be taken to ensure that sports equipment is not imported illegal into the country. This will require working with law enforcement agencies and educating the population that will be a reliable partner in law enforcement.
As the football industry grows, so will its needs increase over time. A strong football industry will certainly require professional referees, trainers, medical personnel and other service workers. This will enable Cameroon’s universities and other higher institutions of learning to set up new faculties and departments to help the industry satisfy its growing needs for trained staff. If most football clubs are run as corporate bodies with strict respect for modern corporate rules, a lot more jobs will be created, especially as the industry will continue to expand and its positive impact felt in other sectors of the economy. While respecting the already existing football rules, the entertainment contents of football will increase as most players and workers in the sector will be highly motivated to attain their optimum levels.
The Way Forward
Viewing the contributions football is making to the growth and prosperity of the English, French, Italian, German and Spanish economies, it will be worth the while for many, if not all, African countries to reconsider their perspective on football. They have to put in huge amounts of money into the system in order to generate jobs and help keep the ailing economy on its right track. They have to improve upon their road, air and railway networks in order to enable fans to travel from one city to the other with relative easy. They have to make policy decisions that will enable football clubs to be considered as corporate bodies where players are given their due and skill and unskilled workers of the industry can make a living off football. Without this conscious effort, football, which is a great industry in the West, will remain an unproductive, unprofitable, and a dying entertainment industry in Africa. © The Entrepreneur Newspaper 2009. All Rights Reserved
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