A social media post by the Embassy of Uganda in Berlin announcing a tourism partnership with a little-known German football club has sparked widespread outrage online, with critics questioning why officials did not target English-speaking countries or clubs with a larger broadcast audience to maximize the impact of the deal.
When Ugandans saw that the embassy had signed a deal, many had hoped it would involve a globally recognised team such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund or another top-tier Bundesliga club.
Instead, the embassy announced a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with VfB Einheit zu Pankow, a Berlin club playing in the Bezirksliga—the eighth tier of German football. Under the deal, the “Explore Uganda – The Pearl of Africa” brand will appear on the kits of the club’s men’s first team and its G2 youth team. The embassy said the partnership aims to “boost destination visibility, engage communities and strengthen Uganda–Germany people-to-people ties.”
The agreement was signed on November 1, 2026, in Pankow by Ambassador Danny Ssozi, Uganda’s Chargé d’Affaires in Berlin, who was accompanied by Second Secretary Jessica Namuddu.
Independent online reviews note that VfB Einheit zu Pankow operates strictly at a local amateur level, meaning it possesses virtually no broadcast reach or television coverage. Matches are played on neighborhood sports grounds in East Berlin in front of small, hyper-local fan bases consisting primarily of local residents, club members, and families.
Additionally, because the league has no regional, national, or international media distribution, the visibility of any promotional branding on the club’s kits is confined almost entirely to on-site matchday spectators and small-scale community engagement initiatives within the Pankow district.
The post, published on X on Sunday, was quickly flooded with replies expressing shock and criticism.
One user, WILBER COPLYF (@Wilbercoplyf), wrote: “So of all the teams in Germany you saw a local village team is the one suitable for advertising Uganda? ... Really?”
Another user pointed out the club’s limited reach: “Before we all get excited, VfB Einheit zu Pankow plays in the Bezirksliga. It’s the eighth tier of German football. They play on amateur grounds in front of local crowds, with zero TV broadcast reach or international media presence.” The same user said the deal would only make sense if it came at a “very low cost.”
One critic wrote: “This is not a great milestone. We can do better. At least they would have gone for an EFL club like Swansea, Blackburn, Wrexham United, etc., not that unknown German club.”
Another said: “Signing a deal with a team playing Sunday league football while other countries go for Champions League finalists is quite a testament to the tremendous work done by the technocrats of our ministries.”
Some users said officials should have targeted English-speaking countries and clubs with a broadcast audience, suggesting teams like Grimsby Town or Fleetwood Town would have been more logical partners.
A smaller number of users defended the deal as a first step. One wrote: “This is a good start to create trust within Germany. After that, Uganda should go up.”
The embassy’s original post remained pinned on, still cheerful, above a thread that read like a collective national groan.
