Category Archives: UAP

Let UAP take you to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

As the logistics and numbers of the 2010 World Cup become clearer, and after my brief trip to South Africa, it’s time to re-evaluate financial plans for the Cup and specifically take a fresh look at UAP who are the only company to so far come up with a targeted finance product.

I had looked at the UAP Insurance plan earlier and dismissed/rejected it on the basis of its marginal return. E.g. investing 5,000 shillings per month over next 42 months would give about 233,000 shillings at an assured internal rate of return of about 6%. However, of that, my own savings would be about 210,000 shillings (90%) while UAP would have chipped in only about 10%.

However it is important to note, and they state this in the 2010 product, that the package is a savings plan toward the World Cup, and not an investment plan and it is therefore wrong to compare the plan to an investment fund or unit trust.

The main benefits of saving with UAP come not from the investment return, but from their in-built package which includes discounted air tickets, discounted accommodation and a chance to (save &) travel with other Kenyans fans who could also be your friends. UAP will also bid for some of the limited numbers of tickets that will be made available here (from the quota allocated to Kenya) thus providing some assurance that the match tickets can be obtained beforehand at FIFA-recommended prices and not from scalpers at the last minute.

During my week in South Africa, in which the conference paid for hotel, air travel and some meals I still used about shillings 6,000 on upkeep, some meals, gifts, beers, newspapers etc. Accommodation at the hotel (bed and breakfast) – next to Johannesburg Airport was about 6,000 shillings and a roundtrip air ticket would probably have cost about 40,000 shillings. Food in SA was reasonable at about 300 per meal, but there were some unexpected bills like currency exchange which sometimes cost 300 or 600 shillings each.

All this makes UAP package 2010 World Cup South Africa plan look pretty attractive for a similar trip to SA four years from now. Or I could stay home and watch the games on DSTV or some local TV channel, but I’d rather be there in person.

World Cup financial plan

I love attending sports events, especially major world events. I have been fortunate enough to attend grand prix races, NBA basketball games, football games, the Kenya vs. Sri Lanka (Cricket World Cup 2003) match, local rugby, the ill-fated Kenya vs. Morocco game, and others.

I have been fortunate to see live icons such as Michael Schumacher, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and others excel at their sports. And with the euphoria of the world cup, I have to seriously think about attending the next world cup in South Africa in 2010.

This will be as geographically close to Kenya as possible, and perhaps if our soccer bosses had got their act together, FIFA would have assigned some group matches to be played in Nairobi (like the Cricket World Cup in 2003). But our soccer administration remains a mess and SA is as close as Kenya will ever get to a major world event. not counting 2007 Mombasa X-country race

While we are busy waiting to see who the defending champions in 2010 will be, it is also time to make plans for such a trip – which will not be cheap. Air tickets, match tickets, hotel, restaurant, and entertainment, are some of the costs to be incurred. Air tickets are about $400 now – but will cost more because everyone will want to make a buck from the WC. E.g. a grand prix runs for 2 hours on Sunday, but hotels in the host city will typically require guests to book for a four-day weekend stay at an inflated rate.

I could sell cows, my car or all my shares, or throw in my savings to finance the trip. Even better, UAP insurance has put together a savings plan to enable Kenyan to meet the costs of such a trip. Even if I sign up with UAP but don’t go to SA, I will have still saved a huge chunk of money over the four years.

It is always fun to travel to such events in a group, so it is important to identify pals who can seriously plan and save to go for the event with me. I do have friends who I sit around and watch the world cup with every evening, and who say we will all be in SA in four years. But are they serious? Only time will tell.