The Business of Sports in Africa

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[Applause]

[Music]

I always hate being on the same stage

with someone who is more handsome

smarter and more well spoken than I am

but I'm stuck with this today so let's

Soldier on it's a good topic to Soldier

on about we're going to talk about

the future of sport in Africa and what

it means for economic development in

Africa and and good solid local

investment in Africa as well we have a

question for all of you

a polling question that I want to start

out with so you have some time to think

about it

um you'll see this up up here on the

screen up behind me but uh

the fastest growing sport in Africa will

be what by 2040. basketball football

rugby

or mixed martial arts wrestling

and if you just scan the QR code you can

register your thoughts on that we'll

come back to it later because I've

learned a lot today about this

particular topic largely from sitting

this morning and talking with Herbert

who is the president of world Rugby's

Africa Association rugby Africa and

welcome to the stage today Herbert it's

good to have you thank you Tim

um so

sport is obviously a big business

elsewhere in the world can it really be

a big sport in Africa can it be a big

business in Africa can sport be a big

business in Africa

um I think so I mean it's very much my

Mantra I took office two and a half

months ago and off the back of the fact

that um I believe that sport is big

business

we need to model ourselves present

ourselves to the global world after all

the best athletes in the world

invariably come from from Africa

you will find them in different

nationalities these days where they're

playing for the national teams in in

Europe or you see them in NBA Finals the

potential in Africa is absolutely

massive so I do believe so but they're

often extracted from Africa aren't they

the the the athletes in some ways it's

akin to oil or other other Commodities

this is a a precious natural resource

and it's being deployed elsewhere isn't

one of the challenges here for for the

continent and a continent that's very

diverse

many different countries inside of it is

how do you retain those that particular

resource so it's benefits both

financially and culturally can can grow

at home I think you're absolutely right

I think the opportunities I was speaking

recently to minister of sport in a

Southern African country and she was

espousing exactly the same that

economically at a certain point with

that kind of talent you will have

Sportsmen having to move to other

continents to other countries in order

to see their real worth and I think

that's part of the challenge that we

have here is is to encourage investment

back on our continent

where you will have many

if we're talking rugby terms there's the

extraordinary player called the beast

who is from Zimbabwe and

played in the World Cup and is larger

than life and had to leave Zimbabwe to

go through to South Africa to to show

his greatness and we have many up in

North Africa who go across to France to

play in West Africa where I come from I

played rugby in England for saracens so

people go out of their home territories

out and I think the key is to to bring

the investment back in into Africa and

for the real the rest of the world to

understand that you can actually grow

here develop here

um and the market is global rather than

LinkedIn to Europe or America so let's

talk about some of the hurdles around

bringing investment back to Africa we

have the historical Legacy it's it's a

mix of both expropriation racism a lack

of Interest elitism etc etc

so there's a historical Legacy to

overcome the roots of which are still

present and then there's just the

current realities investors have other

options

um investors may feel that they have

other

um both regions and sports that are more

profitable Investments so from where you

sit what has to happen structurally

and culturally for this to to take off

here I think it looked to me absolutely

right every knife has is double edged

and um we look at the first part of what

you said is absolutely true that there

is a historical uh relationship that

Africa has with the global world

where it's easier to take product rather

than to invest

to create situations and models where

it's not necessarily in the interests of

Africa and we have to we have to change

that I think what I'm trying to do in my

part of my period is asking for a major

mindset change

a shift so when I speak to my colleagues

at World rugby I'm saying you need to

change the way that you look at us I

once came from the world of football and

we were all involved in petitioning FIFA

and Global bodies to give Africa more

chance rather than say you're not good

enough when you get good enough we'll

give you the chance invest in us today

and we saw what happened in Qatar with

this great country of Morocco and

Cameroon and Ghana and and the likes but

Morocco certainly sent the world on fire

for people to understand that

there are early players who have the the

qualities are born out of where they

come from as opposed to elsewhere if you

had that investment and you can look at

if it is football you look at Hakimi and

you look at you know the goalkeeper and

the rest we have the same in rugby Mario

told you today is playing for England

and he's recognized as one of the best

in that field we need a mind why don't

the Mario otojis of the world or the b i

someday I hope someone calls me the

Beast why don't why don't why don't both

of them stay in Africa what's preventing

young athletes

from from finding a home in the sport

whether it's rugby whether it's whether

it's whether it's football and of course

many African athletes go overseas for

basketball and other U.S Centric Sports

I think at the end of the day it's all

about money the money that's invested is

taking it along like

unfortunately like everything the money

that's invested

players and families and people have a

choice as to how they see the next 10 20

30 years of their life especially sports

that you have a shorter lifespan we need

to get the global bodies

if it's my sport rugby if it's others

and they're all on their own missions to

invest more but we as well within Africa

need to re-examine ourselves our

policies on Sports and education

look I I had the honor of meeting an

extraordinary gentleman yesterday

um yeah and that was the minister of

Youth and sports here at Morocco and

listening to his rollout plan which

involves education and sports uh

was something to behold and you've told

me that you know

there are more than 50 countries in

Africa and you have a very different

experience every time you visit each one

of them in terms of the kind of

reception you get the kind of

collaboration you get what makes Morocco

or any other country that you see as a

successful collaborator successful well

I think the present future is really a

marriage between governments where there

is a responsibility if you take the

values that rugby has it's it has I

would say better values than many other

sports in terms of bringing up young

people and letting them understand the

values of respect of teamwork of

collaboration of of patients of of other

things like that so the marriage with

government first and foremost and we

need African governments to also invest

in the games we have some my own country

I have an extraordinary president and

he's we're building a first

purpose-built rugby stadium they might

seem a big deal but it is uh Rwanda

notably has done the same he is really

championing the development of sport

we've had those were governments that

that are populated by people with real

expertise

and and a focus on a partnership that

achieves Mutual goals right both both

for the sport and for for the for the

locality absolutely you're right I think

there's also a realization that look if

you've got young people involved in

sports they're not going to get up to

Mischief

um I think it doesn't matter how hard

things are economically if rugby makes

you be prepared rugby makes you at least

it it does I think very much so yeah

um you know from the outside you know

we've talked about this idea of of money

returning to the base and and and that's

true of of any business in any locality

to what extent is Is wealth and value

extracted to what extent does it remain

behind and create a full-blooded robust

local ecosystem

um

can sport ever be a full-blown Economic

Development tool in the way that other

energy entertainment Industries are or

other types of Industries are in terms

of not just being episodic you know we

have a great debate in the United States

about big stadiums that are built with

taxpayer funds

and then they sort of become one-offs

um and and don't have longevity in terms

of of economic growth is do you think

that that Sports is a long-term Economic

Development tool in Africa I think so

very much so I think you just need to

drive through Africa as diverse as it is

culturally and in every other way and

there'll be a young kid with a wall of

some sort more so than you will have

anywhere else

it becomes very much part and parcel and

I think that when we look at development

models we should really look at the

lifestyle and culture of the people what

they do and Sport very much is one just

digressing a little bit I was so proud

recently in the Champions League final

not only to see the plethora of Africans

there but to see Burna Boy as the main

musician afterwards and everybody going

up to them so we we do have musicians if

we move laterally who are Global today

who have great pride in being Africans

and coming back home we need to press

that button of investment that says not

only do you give opportunity to Africans

in Africa but then you have other

industries that will build up from it

other growth areas that will bring up

build up from it which will benefit

everybody at the end of the day you know

there's been a number of demographic

studies that already indicate that by

2100 40 of the world's population will

be in Africa

think that institutionally Africans have

have enough voice

commensurate with both their future

potential and the the present realities

of what's on the ground here

specifically in sports uh no I don't I

think there are battles within battles

the Battle of playing sport

I've always said as a business person

you need to win off the field in order

to win on the field so when I get

involved in any form of Sports

Development it's getting it right off

the field and in this case it's taking

on government it's taking on our Global

bodies it's seeking greater Equity I

mean the fact that

Africa for example with 50 odd countries

and 30 something all Affiliated to rugby

Africa have two votes

at World rugby when individual developed

countries have three apiece means that

you can't force them to equity

in terms of

investment in terms of whatever you have

to find different means of getting there

so we we need to fight battles off the

field not only with global bodies and

with our governments with lending

agencies we're going to the World Cup in

France this year which is the second

biggest sporting event in the world

after the FIFA World Cup football rugby

is the second biggest sport in the world

and I did not know that until we had

breakfast this morning absolutely I had

other biases out of my ignorance yeah

and the fact that

if you take in Europe and in the west

Rugby's played mainly amongst Elite and

better educated and the custodians of

capital and business and money I see a

few smiling faces on their rugby players

X ones there if they if I see them

limping afterwards I know they're rugby

players I know I'll definitely know

so surely since they control so much

Capital they shouldn't be so diff

difficult as they look to invest in

Africa and bring about change there are

some there are some practical things

investors will look for for example any

sport rides on the back of a strong

broadcasting presence an ability for

people to watch a sport on television

it's it's as important a partnership as

Government

or capital or talent that is another

hurdle the continent as a whole has to

overcome isn't it just building out an

accessible affordable broadcasting

network no you're absolutely right the

dog at history which I I don't like

going back to the fact of who are we and

where we came from is is a reality

because we don't have one sky TV that

covers the whole continent of Africa

Franklin from Africa thinks in one way

anglophone Africa thinks in one way and

North Africa also praised differently so

when you start looking at Continental

models it becomes an issue one of the

things that we are doing

in coming into power is looking first at

a complete constitutional review to

empower us to move forward checking our

own internal governance systems but in

in is also looking and saying we should

need to split Africa Eastward north

south it's far easier to raise money

when you look and say in West Africa

there are 400 or 150 odd million people

West Africa alone is a bigger Market

than the United States absolutely

potentially so how do we then make that

work into one model how do we then look

at the East African Bloc who are the

premiers of rugby kenyas Zimbabwe Uganda

and the likes how do we deal up here

with North Africa as a separate entity

and I think when it is we start doing

that then we can start broaching the

issue of

TV TV rights and the rest which is so

easy in Europe and America to sign off

because you've got one carrier I mean

here we've been dealing with and we've

signed Partnerships with apio and I'm

very happy about that because they are a

continental re-broadcaster of news but

it is very much we stream a lot of the

things and we're taking a slightly

different approach

you then come back to governments and

state broadcasters and what it is they

can put out at the same but the

commercial value of where they are is is

not quite there but then there's the

opportunity for the people with money to

see that opportunity think long term to

look media do we get an answer from our

poll I don't see one up yet I haven't

voted yet so you haven't voted so we'll

wait for your vote to come in and we've

run out of time Herbert Mensa thank you

for joining us this morning thank you

very much Tim

thank you