In October 2017,  Kratos Sports Africa, an online sports platform launched in Uganda with the aim of promoting local sport and detailing sport in Africa and the world in general.

The platform showcases video and written content in the sport of rugby.  It also has an online shop and an advertising model for various partners.

The team comprises of young and driven professionals united by their love for sports in Uganda, who are committed to deliver quality service through highly integrated in-depth analysis, news and updates and redefine the reporting and description of sports in the country.

The Tower Post’s Alex Alinda caught up with Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Maurice Aliganyira to discuss what the platform is about, what they have been up to in the last twelve months, and much more.

Here are the excerpts;

Where did you get the inspiration to start up such your platform?

For many years, we have followed sport around the country and we felt that many media houses don’t do justice to the sports they cover and that is what we wanted to change

What is so special about your brand?

The brand presents a unique dynamic, focusing on rugby which is one of the fastest growing sports. – bringing in depth analysis, games, highlights and relevance from the players point of view and the sport in general.People can actually get to watch we are talking about.

It is nothing the mainstream sports media. Aside from just publishing on social media, we have a team entrusted with blogging, then with video production. We are able to produce written and video content on our website. We provide an online shop to keep guys in the latest sports gear.

We show you the players’ lives outside the game and bring a human touch to these day to day gladiators

We also fuse sport and business but letting people enjoy sport while being aware of the corporate world that surrounds them with our unique advertising model.

Who do you think will be your immediate beneficiary?

The game of rugby is the immediate beneficiary. We pick a story from a remote setting and be able to produce it the world.

Tell us more about your team?

It is currently a small team of about 10, a number we hope to obviously grow with time. They are a bunch of young and creative minds. We work with people who are able to multi-task and deliverables-oriented.

They are passionate and eager to learn and earn our place at the table as the best sports media brand.

What are some of the sports merchandise you have on your shopping section of the platform?

Our shopping platform has jerseys majorly at the moment, but we plan to bring in boots, training gear, shirts, balls and many others – and both for men and women.

The jerseys include replica shirts of 7 national sides i.e. Uganda, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia.

Football is the most popular sport in Uganda, why did you start by concentrating on Rugby?

Everyone is doing soccer generally, why not focus on a niche that we can grow while making our mark and soon other disciplines / sports shall be contacting us.

Besides, it is the fastest growing sport in the world and although few may know this, out of 105 countries playing rugby competitively, one-third are African. As a skyrocketing industry, we want to be part of a game changing process.

Do you think government is doing enough to promote sports in Uganda?

Not really, many federations have had to beg the government for funds to be able to participate in external tournaments and others have had to solicit from the public.

Also, if you look at it from the sponsorship point of view, many companies are reaping big in Uganda but how many take time to support a team in any sport, very few give back to the community.

If this was a mandate from the ministry of sports then ask yourself how many companies would be pushing teams which in turn creates opportunities to earn and play for the youth thus keeping them off the street and avoid crimes.

What would you say are the major problems hindering sports development in Uganda?

Perception of Sports in the country – not being perceived as a serious solution to the employment hiccup yet it can actually be a good solution to many socio- economic factors

Fraudulent federations that fail to provide audited books.

Lack of government funding

Rudimentary facilities

What are some of the projects you have worked on since you launched?

We Introduced the video recording/live streaming to the Ugandan market sometime at the Coronation 7s at the end of July.

We exported the same product to Kenya in mid-September at the Christie 7s.

Tell us some of your near future plans, what do you have in store?

We want to Consolidate our name in Uganda as the leading brand in what we do and are are looking to being a household name beyond just the rugby folk.

Where do you see Kratos Sports in 5 years?

The biggest sports brand in the East African region and Africa as a whole.