For the first time ever in the clubs existence, Forest Rangers Football Club has qualified for Continental football. This is a clear indication of hard and smart work truly paying off. Forest rangers managed to clinch continental football by coming out second in the league with Nkana depriving them of the prestigious national title.
In a statement made available to Zambian Business Times – ZBT by Forest Rangers media and public relations officer Christina Zulu, Forest Rangers are elated as a football club as this has never happened before in the clubs history.
“Of course, it’s a big thing for the club because it’s never happened in the past 45 years in which Forest Rangers has actually been in existence. It’s something big for the team and we are planning to get more continental slots because we are hoping this will inspire not just us, but the fans, players, technical team and the sponsors as well” stated Zulu.
Furthermore she disclosed that the inspiration behind #Chino Chaka Ni Continental is a song done by someone for the club. The man kept on foretelling that this will be our season and it finally happened. This is why the club turned it into a brand. Zulu also gave a sneak peek on how the club is marketing their brand through selling of club mechanize like jerseys.
“We’ve so far sold about 500 jerseys or so. It’s not as good as we wanted it to be because of a number of factors, but the sales are still going on. And for anything else besides T-shirts, we are looking forward to do phone covers as well”, she said.
The clubs training stadium is Dola Hill which is currently undergoing reconstruction and renovation, but at the moment, the club is using Levy Mwanawasa Stadium. The number of fans attending the game depends on the type of game being played, but this feat will surely lead to the club attracting more fans and supporters.
“On the number of fans that actually come to the stadium, it varies depending on the game that is being played. Derbies usually do attract the most and hopefully now with CAF, we are going to get more fans watching the games”, she said.
For now, we are trying to ensure our fans feel part of the club, so we use our social media platform. We are also planning to do outreach events in the community where we have the largest fan base and also do sales promotions with reduced prices for the jerseys to ensure most fans can acquire them.
Forest Rangers are working at fully commercializing their team and taking advantage of the appearance in continental football to win the support of their loyal fans. Football main revenue streams include Sponsorhips, gate takings, TV and advertising rights as well as player sales.
Forest Rangers main sponsor is Zaffico and with continental football, the team has an opportunity to attract additional sponsors for spots on jerseys and stadium branding. The key remains for the club to maintain and grow its active fan base which is key to attracting good players as well as more sponsors and advertising.
