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Nsejjerre replica jersey deal ignores players

US Sportswear Firm Nsejjere Holdings is back in the country with new revised replica jersey deals after earlier contracts flopped.
Nation on Sunday had an in-depth interview with stakeholders, to establish what has changed this time and how all parties stand to benefit.

There is nothing specific for players such as these in the deal

Nsejjere is responsible for manufacturing, branding and shipping of the jerseys. But unlike the previous contracts where clubs were involved in direct sales of merchandise, this time Nsejjere will be responsible.
“The problems we had is that we gave products to clubs to sell, but we never got any money in return that is why we have decided to sell them on our own,” said Nsejjere chief commercial officer Nanfuka Aishah.
The arrangement is that clubs and Nsejjere will each get two dollars on each jersey which costs 12 dollars.
The rest of the money on each jersey will go towards covering the cost of shipping and manufacturing.
Aishah said the responsibility of the clubs is to mobilise fans to buy the product which is provided for free.
With this kind of arrangement both Silver and Bullets will make K2 million each from the first consignment. Nsejjere will be restocking the merchandise when need arises.
“What we need to do is embark on publicity campaign to reach all our fans in the country. There is future in this project for the club if our supporters buy the products,” said Kalonga.
He admitted that in the previous deal, despite the consignment selling well, most supporters did not return the money to the club.
“The mode of selling was to use our supporters across the country but most failed to give the money back after sales,” said Kalonga.
In the South African Premier League  (PSL) and Europe players earn a percentage of sales of jersey their names make.
Asked if there are such benefits for Silver players?
“The replica jersey, which we have provided do not have names of players as such there is no direct gain for the players,” said Aishah.
“The players will benefit indirectly in that the more the money the club makes the better the welfare of the players,” said Kalonga.
Big Bullets general secretary Titha Mandiza described the deal as good.
She, however, said the only challenge is that the products are being sold by Nsejjere themselves.
“We have the largest fan base in the country. Our supporters are in millions and we hope to benefit a lot if we sell more. The problem we are having now is that the merchandise is sold by Nsejjere themselves. If the product was in our custody we could have made many sales within a short time,” said Mandiza
Since the replicas are not numbered, Mandiza said she has bought some and printed numbers, which players such as Fischer Kondowe wear.
“I am doing that myself because I know some supporters will rush to buy the jersey because it has the number of their favourite player,” she said in an interview on Friday.n

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