According to reports, there is an ongoing discussion to potentially have game 7 of the NBL Finals played in Hoima. There are pros and cons to this and in this article, we shall delve into what this means.

Will there be a game 7?

At the moment, the NBL Finals series is 3-2 with the City Oilers in the lead. For there to be a game 7, the Namuwongo Blazers must win game 6. That is not a guaranteed. Discussion may be made about game 7 but until the Blazers level the series, it could all be a waste of time.

Hoima Regular Season Drama

During the regular season, there were plans to host 18 games at Hoima. However, there was a lot of backlash and the games were not held there. Among those games was the second round tie between the Namuwongo Blazers and the City Oilers. Perhaps that game would have given the players and teams a feel of that court and environment.

When the games were rescheduled, plans to play at Hoima this season were abandoned until recently. The State Minister for Sports Hon. Peter Ogwang, the General Secretary of the National Council of Sports (NCS) Dr. Bernard Patrick Ogwel and NCS Chairperson Ambrose Tashobya were in attendance for games 4 and 5 of the NBL Finals. The Uganda Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Sport President Dr. Donald Rukare was also in attendance for game 4.

It is said that the idea of taking a potential game 7 to Hoima emanated while these dignitaries were in attendance. One of the things pointed out was the large crowd that was drawn for the games and the atmosphere during the finals.

Is taking game 7 to Hoima a good idea

This is dependent in which angle that you view it. There are many pros but also a lot of cons. Also, the terms under which game 7 will be played in Hoima matter a lot. The other thing is, who are the most affected parties by this?

The league

As you all know, the day to day activities of the league are mainly handled by the managers. FUBA is in charge of overseeing the leagues, referee allocation, scheduling of games, hearing of protests and so on. Also, the managers are in charge of the finances of the league.

In the first 5 games of the finals, the league has made a lot of revenue given the increment in the entrance fees and the overwhelming number of fans. When you move game 7, a game that could make for you record revenue, to Hoima, there is chance that you will miss out on that potential revenue.

Most of the fans who have been following are around Kampala and there is assurance that many of them will travel to Hoima or that the local people in the area will pay to come for the game.

Secondly, the logistics needed to have the game in Hoima are perhaps 10 times what would be needed for a game at Lugogo. All officials (more than 15) would have to be transported and catered for. That exponentially increases the expenditure.

However, if NCS or whoever is interested in having the game at Hoima can cater for all that, the league/ managers would not have any big objections as to why the game should not be held there.

Think about it for a second, if the league is paid about 50 million (compensation of what could be the potential revenue for game 7), why would they refuse to have the game in Hoima?

The teams

Teams are very big stakeholders in this. For a game 7, the teams will probably have to travel a day or 2 before the game in order to familiarize with the environment. That means expenditure of accommodation, meals, transportation and other things. The budget of the club would go up exponentially and given that most teams didn’t plan for this, the funds to cater for all that may not be available.

If the management of teams and players can come to a consensus, then it would be okay to games game there.  Although, whoever is interested in taking the games to Hoima would potentially have to make some financial commitment to the teams.

If say, transport, accommodation and meals are taken care of plus other logistics, the idea would be very welcome.

Players

The players are the most important stakeholders in all this. All of us come for the game because of the players and without them there is no game to watch. The thing about players though is that they have obligations to their clubs. It is unlikely for them to refuse to play at Hoima but it is also very inconvenient.

For many, basketball is another job that they do. They have other obligations. So, to put everything else aside for a couple of days for just this one game is highly unfair to them. If the game is at Lugogo, as earlier communicated, a person can easily plan their day. Know when to move to where, practice and so on. But in Hoima, they would have to leave everything else and go prepare for that game.

Officials

Just like players, officials have other jobs that they do. For them to move to Hoima, it would probably be a day before or in the morning of the day of the game. However, they would also have to leave what they are doing and go prepare for the game. If the compensation is worth it, why not go and officiate in the finals?

Fans

Despite fans being very big stakeholders, I don’t think the league cares about them. If the league can make their money and all the teams are on board, as fan you can’t do anything. If the game is taken to Hoima, you would see less fans, who have been ardently following the finals, travel for the games.

People have jobs/businesses that need them to be available and for one to abandon all that just for 1 game, they would have to be heavily invested. Secondly, the costs incurred are also many. For a game at Lugogo, a person pays 15 or 30k plus about 10-15k for transport.

For a round trip to Hoima, one would have to spend about 60-70k on transport alone. That is more than what they spend on the game day at Lugogo. If you factor in food, entrance and other expenditure, the money required would be perhaps double, triple or more than what they would use if thr game was at Lugogo.

Government

The indoor Arena at Hoima has barely been used since its construction. However, government spends millions on maintenance yet there is no activity. For government, it would be very good to have the game at Hoima. Actually, they should do everything possible to make sure the game is pushed to that location.

There is also potential for local tourism and growth of local businesses. If the game is taken there, a lot of fans will travel to go and watch. In the process, there could collaborate with the Uganda Tourism Board and have the people move around the local sites and tourism spots. Even the teams could have some tourism activity and all that can be used to market the country and the tourist sites.

The locals would also get to know about the big teams and the game of basketball. One of the thing that government wants is that the sports would be spread across the country, this could be one of the ways in which they achieve that.

Local investors, philanthropists, schools and higher institutions could pick up the game and since there is already a facility, the game could potentially grow there.

Final take

Taking the game to Hoima would be a new experience but people are usually afraid of new things. However, if the league, teams and players can come to agreement, it would be good for Uganda to have a game of this magnitude at that ground.

The most important thing in all this is, the Namuwongo Blazers must win game 6. If they do, then the discussions can be intesfied.