FourFourTwo East Africa will be published by New Media Publications Ltd – the Uganda-based company behind African Woman magazine – distributed in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.
“The World Cup is arguably the world’s biggest single-sport event, and in 2010 it will be hosted by an African nation for the first time,” said Haymarket’s Hugh Sleight, Haymarket’s brand director of FourFourTwo. “The game is already followed passionately all over Africa, but we’re particularly pleased that East Africa will get their very own blend of the best in football news and entertainment from FourFourTwo in a landmark year for football in Africa.”
Tim Bulley, director of Haymarket Licensing, said: “Haymarket is very excited about working with New Media Publications, who have had fantastic success with their brand African Woman in Uganda and Kenya. Their approach to editorial and design quality is setting new standards for the region. With all eyes on Africa next year for the World Cup it is the perfect time to launch a local edition of FourFourTwo for East Africa.”
Sylvia Owori, the publisher of African Woman magazine and director of New Media Publications Ltd, said: “We are extremely proud and enthusiastic about having been chosen to be part of the highly successful and rapidly expanding FourFourTwo brand. We look forward to providing football fans in East Africa with high-quality insight into the exciting world of international football.
“The magazine will also cover the local football scene, thereby helping to develop the sport in East Africa. The region is home to more than 120 million people and football and sport in general is an important part of our growth strategy. We could get no better start than by working with FourFourTwo and Haymarket Media Group.”
FourFourTwo East Africa will be edited by Mark Ssali, a well-known and highly respected football journalist.
Ssali has extensive radio and TV sports commentary and anchor experience, and he writes weekly columns for Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper. He pioneered Uganda’s first-ever radio sports talk show in 1998 and, over the past decade, has covered several major international sports events for the print media.
FourFourTwo, which will soon be published in 16 markets including its original UK home, will reach a significant new audience of football fans in East Africa. Elsewhere in Africa, Haymarket titles have previously been launched under licence in Nigeria (FourFourTwo) and South Africa (FourFourTwo, What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision and Stuff).
