Every creator ultimately faces the identical query: how do you flip one thing you’re keen on doing into one thing that pays? For hundreds of younger Ugandans, the Premier League season has simply handed them a sensible approach to discover out.
On 26 August 2026, Coca-Cola Uganda launched a four-month Content Creation Challenge inviting soccer followers throughout the nation to share how they expertise English Premier League matchdays: the meals on the desk, the folks they watch with, the rivalries, the celebrations and the Coca-Cola moments in between. It follows the model’s two-day EPL Watch Party at Millennium Park in Kampala on 21 and 22 August, which drew followers for reside soccer, music and leisure.
The mechanics look lots like the actual creator economic system. Fans purchase a Coca-Cola, scan the on-pack QR code, create unique content material that includes their matchday, a meal and a Coke, and put up it on Instagram or TikTok with the marketing campaign hashtag, tagging Coca-Cola Uganda. Entries are ranked on a nationwide leaderboard, and members can earn month-to-month money rewards primarily based on validated views, with rewards starting from UGX 50,000 to UGX 1,000,000, alongside Coca-Cola merchandise and marketing campaign experiences.
Barry Otieno, Senior Marketing Manager for Coca-Cola in Uganda, describes the problem as placing followers on the centre of the model’s Premier League story. “This marketing campaign celebrates what Ugandan followers already do each matchday and rewards them for telling that story in their very own manner,” he says.
Getting paid for what you already do
Many of the scholars participating put the monetary facet plainly. Lynn describes the problem as a manner for younger followers “to show their on a regular basis love for soccer and social media hustle into actual money and visibility.” Edgar Dylan of Kampala International University (KIU) lists his causes with out dressing them up: “Building a artistic thoughts… Experience from working with an enormous model… Hope for cash.” He additionally names a lesson that goes properly past one marketing campaign: “the significance of crew work.”
Because the problem runs for 4 months and permits a number of entries, it rewards what working creators already know: consistency beats a single viral second. Views reset every month, so each new month is a recent likelihood to compete.
Why “validated” views matter
One element within the guidelines deserves consideration from anybody critical about constructing a creator profession. All entries undergo moderation, and winners are decided by validated leaderboard rankings. According to Coca-Cola, the validation course of is designed to catch artificially inflated views, duplicate or stolen content material and fraudulent engagement.
That’s a helpful lesson in how manufacturers more and more take into consideration creators. Bought views and recycled clips may inflate a quantity, however manufacturers pay for actual audiences and unique work. Participants are additionally anticipated to maintain content material unique, use licensed or royalty-free music, get permission from anybody featured, and keep away from Premier League match footage, that are the identical rights-and-permissions habits skilled creators depend on.
Sulphur, a KIU scholar, frames it as a matter of requirements. “Coca-Cola is a serious model, and I imagine we should always give the model content material that displays that stage,” he says. His benchmark for high quality is easy: make one thing that “even when we got here throughout it on our personal FYP, would genuinely seize our consideration and make us wish to watch till the top.” He believes high quality creates its personal momentum: “the extra artistic and aggressive the content material turns into, the extra motivated everybody together with the organisers and potential supporters will probably be to recognise and reward excellent creators.”
Skills, portfolio, community
For many members, the money is just a part of the return. Brian treats each video as apply: “I’m bettering my storytelling, modifying, and confidence with each video I create.” Debbie Cox factors to “content material creation, communication, storytelling and digital media” as expertise she is constructing. Monica, additionally from KIU, says the problem is “giving me extra data about content material creation and getting ready me for extra alternatives.”
And then there’s the community. Jade Billz Director, a cinematographer at Makerere University, has been capturing content material for a crew from KIU. The work, he says, “has allowed me to expertise completely different environments, meet new folks, and develop via each body I seize.” His takeaway could possibly be the unofficial motto of the creator economic system: “typically, one alternative can open doorways, construct connections, and produce your expertise nearer to locations you as soon as solely dreamed of reaching.”
The problem is open to Ugandan residents aged 18 and above. Further particulars on mechanics, reward tiers and eligibility are being shared via Coca-Cola Uganda’s official social media channels.