Ghana Missing Opportunity To Promote Brand Ghana At World Cup – Alberto Paanii

Marketing expert Enoch Alberto Alberto Paanii says Ghana has not fully taken advantage of opportunities to promote its culture and businesses around the ongoing FIFA World Cup.

Alberto Paanii, the chief executive officer of Brand Surge Marketing, made the remarks during an interview on The Big Conversation segment on Culture Daily on 3Music TV and Pluzz 89.9 FM.

According to him, there are significant commercial opportunities available to businesses and entrepreneurs during major international tournaments, but he saw little evidence of Ghanaian brands actively promoting themselves in Toronto.

“I didn’t see much of Brand Ghana or people taking advantage of everything happening around here to push their products or services from Ghana onto the local markets,” he said.

He noted that although many Ghanaians attended the game and wore national colours and jerseys, there was limited promotion of Ghanaian products and culture beyond the supporters themselves.

“I saw a lot of Ghanaian jerseys and Ghanaian people. I didn’t see a lot of people selling the Ghanaian culture,” he added.

Alberto Paanii said opportunities exist for businesses to operate around fan parks and sporting events if they are willing to research and follow the required processes.

According to him, information on how to participate in activities around FIFA tournaments is readily available.

“Even trying to explore the possibility of running a fan park and all of the events, even working as a retailer to sell your products and services in and around the stadium and fan parks was a very simple process,” he said.

He explained that organisers had made procedures accessible through official channels and that businesses could secure the necessary approvals by meeting the requirements.

“Once you tick the right boxes, you can get access to do what you want to do,” he said.

Beyond the football itself, Alberto Paanii described sports tourism as an industry that remains largely untapped in Ghana.

He said major tournaments provide opportunities for cultural exchange, networking and tourism experiences that extend beyond the matches.

“The reason people travel all the way to watch football is not just for the 90 minutes. There’s that cultural exchange, you get to experience new culture, you meet people, you visit places,” he said.

He added that the experience in Toronto demonstrated how local communities can use international sporting events to create activities that attract visitors and strengthen cultural identity.

For Ghana, he said, future tournaments present an opportunity to better project the country’s culture, products and businesses onto the global stage.