By Orin Davidson
On the field Guyana’s football accomplishments are third world compared to the first world type feats of Caricom heavyweights Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
But the successful visit to the Land of Many Waters by the world’s greatest player ever Pele, has placed the Kashif and Shanghai Organization head and shoulders above similar organisations in either of those two countries and others in the Region.
In terms of organizational acumen, Kashif and Shanghai has made itself a Caricom superpower and has put Guyana on the map, not only in the West Indies but further a field with this stunning feat, that is sure to bring this country instant recognition in that burgeoning industrial giant Brazil. They may be our continental neighbours, but a great majority of Brazilians have never heard of Guyana, but thanks to Kashif and Shanghai, Guyana should be a household name by now in South America’s most powerful and prosperous nation.
The exposure the country acquired through the coverage of Pele’s visit by Brazil’s largest Television media, TV Globo, which happens to be the world’s fourth most popular network after the three major American systems, was worth every cent spent to accommodate King Pele. Pele will forever be Brazil’s biggest and best celebrity, not just in sports but in all spheres of activities and yet millions of his compatriots have never seen him in the flesh. But because of Kashif and Shanghai, almost every Guyanese football fan not only saw the King, but got a chance to shake his hand and experience the magnetism of the man that revolutionized the football world with his breathtaking feats on the field from the 1950s onwards, that made Brazil the sport’s longest reigning superpower.
In 20 short years, Kashif and Shanghai has done what no other private football entity has done in the Caribbean in landing a visit by the King to their country. And it was not a visit for an international competition involving the Brazilian national team or a club from the nation rather it was purely to attend a domestic series. But Kashif and Shanghai is not an ordinary sports promotion group in the Guyana context, it is by far the best in the country at building a brand and popularizing it. It is a testament to the organization’s marketing prowess that can only be described as superlative. It explains why the group generates more sponsorship than any of the country’s sports entities for its annual series and why it attracted the largest sports event crowd in the history of Guyana, when it was staged for the first time at the Guyana National Stadium in January.
According to Pele, he was influenced to accommodate the visit on his busy schedule by his desire to see and meet the club named after him and the one he played for in his heyday. In using Pele and Santos clubs as a key element in its strategy to sell the visit to Pele, Kashif and Shanghai utilized one of its trademark marketing skills. It explains why the tournament has enjoyed mega success for two decades. Fittingly, Pele was given treatment associated with visiting Heads of State: a red carpet airport welcome, motorcades and the ‘Key to the City’ ceremony were all very appropriate. Add typical Guyanese hospitality and Pele had a grand time as he profusely said at the close of the visit following the Pele vs Santos clash that drew the curtain on the K&S 2009-10 series at the national stadium.
The tremendous crowd adulation showered on the great man, throughout his two-day stay was a main highlight. All the organizations including the government and the Georgetown city council were motivated to put on their A-game. Mayor Hamilton Green, in particular, stood out for despite the Council’s mammoth problems he made the City Hall function special. The only regret was the lack of a bigger presence by the K&S Organisation’s Kashif Mohammed and Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major at the functions. From all indications neither of the two made any speeches at the various activities when one or the other should’ve been the main speakers at Cheddi Jagan Airport, City Hall and every place else. They are the ones who made the visit a reality and deserve the credit.
Instead, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) president Colin Klass and the politicians hogged the limelight. Klass enjoyed another of his merry rides, piggybacking again on the accomplishments of others as he has been doing throughout his long tenure at the head of Guyana’s football, while running the sport into the ground. He should have respectfully taken a back seat as among other negatives, he has been GFF president for 20 years, the same time life of the K&S series, and the GFF has never staged a successful domestic competition, much less coming close to matching the one he behaves as if he is an authority for. It is a great pity Kashif and Shanghai have tolerated him all these years.
