Latest SportPesa sponsorship deal great but we can do better

It is great news indeed that the Kenya Premier League have signed a new sponsorship deal with local betting firm SportPesa, said to be in the region of Ksh 360 million spread over four and half years.

The revival of Kenyan football owes a lot to the return of football sponsorship in the country, with the Supersport-KPL deal several years ago laying a firm foundation for the decent football successes being enjoyed in the local football scene today.

The importance of sponsorship to the well being of Kenyan football was aptly acknowledged by KPL Chairman Ambrose Rachier during the official announcement of the Sportspesa deal on Thursday.

“We warmly welcome SportPesa to KPL. The sponsorship will help maintain the level of success the league has enjoyed in the region,” Mr Rachier said.  

According to Nairobi News, the agreement is for Ksh 80 million with a ten percent increment every year bringing the total figure over the entire duration of the contract to around Sh 360 million.

This would be a great improvement on the previous sponsorship of Ksh 170 million from East Africa Breweries Limited that expired in June.

Before the signing of a US$ 5.5 million television broadcast rights deal between Supersport and KPL, Kenyan football had sunk to its lowest level, with the best Kenyan footballers abandoning local clubs for greener pastures in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda.

However, the deal not only brought these players back home but started an influx of foreign players into local football that has persisted to date. The Supersport deal was later enhanced to about Ksh 1 billion and is in its final year.

These deals have shown us a glimpse of what is possible with proper and professional football management. Indeed, were it not for football sponsorship, instead of cheering Gor Mahia at the recently concluded CECAFA Kagame Cup in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we would have long mourned and forgotten its demise from Kenyan football.

We are all witnesses to what money can do to a country’s football, the reference here of course being the English Premier League, which was transformed into the best football league in the world through the injection of astronomical amounts of cash from both inside and outside Great Britain.

The league only recently announced a new staggering £5.136 billion TV rights deal effective from the 2016 season and Manchester United, the most successful premier league club, have just started enjoying a mouth watering ten year £750 million Adidas shirt sponsorship deal.

These are figures that we can not even start to dream about in Kenya, but they offer strong motivation that financial support can transform a country’s football world.

The scene in Kenya is made unattractive to sponsors by poor club management, corruption and recurrent infighting between Football Kenya Federation and KPL.

We need to emulate European football’s best practices and strengthen our administrative structures. Once we do this, we shall be in an even stronger position to bargain for much more lucrative sponsorship deals that will surely benefit everyone involved in Kenyan football.

To excel in African football, we must sort the mess in Kenyan football

The 2015 CECAFA Kagame Cup championship came to a disappointing conclusion for Kenyan fans as Gor Mahia finally found the going tough against Tanzania’s Azam FC, whose defensive philosophy was proudly broadcast to everyone that cared to listen by club coach Stewart Hall.

In retrospect, however, Gor’s 0-2 defeat to the rich Tanzanian club should not be viewed as too much of a disappointment. Only 12 months ago, the Kenyan champions could not win a single match as they bowed out at the group stage of the same tournament held in Rwanda.

As the 2015 edition approached, it increasingly appeared that Gor Mahia might not even make it to Dar es Salaam. In typical Kenyan football management style, it emerged that an agreement between CECAFA and Football Kenya Federation – to the effect that FKF would cater for the transport costs of Kenya’s representatives – was just hot air.

Facing the danger of not making it to the tournament, a hastily organised fundraiser was held to raise funds for the club’s air tickets. The amount raised fell short of requirements and President Kenyatta had to step in to purchase air tickets for the team.

The first match Gor faced against Yanga had been largely called in Yanga’s favour but instead Gor put in a wonderful performance to beat the fancied Tanzania mainland representatives. A similar story unfolded against KMKM of Zanzibar and suddenly, Gor Mahia were elevated to favourites status.

The club lived up to expectations and made it to the finals where, unfortunately, an efficient Azam defence and a clinical forward line ended their dreams for a sixth CECAFA club title.

For a club that has lacked sponsors for close to two years, it is amazing that Gor Mahia are actually fighting for titles rather than battling against relegation. During a similar cash starved period a few years ago, it was normal to find Gor at the bottom of the league table and, in deed, boardroom intervention was required to keep the club in the top flight on more than one occasion.

The situation is a bit different now due to the funds available from Kenya Premier League sponsors Kenya Breweries and Multichoice. Additionally, the huge following that Gor enjoys in the country means they can count on some cash from gate collections.

Contrast this with the immense financial resources at Azam FC’s disposal and you begin to appreciate that Gor have done a really commendable job in Dar es Salaam. The most valuable defender of the tournament, Azam’s Serge Wawa, is from the Ivory Coast. Only a year ago, Wawa was in the El Merreikh (Sudan) team that won the 2014 CECAFA Kagame Cup in Rwanda.

Needless to say, El Merreikh is one of the richest clubs in Africa, able to compete for top African football talent with the other African football giants that include Al Ahly of Egypt and Esperence of Tunisia. That Azam can manage to secure the services of a top class defender signed to this class of football giants is a huge testament of the club’s readiness to compete at the highest level.

The world over, we are seeing the importance of money in building competitive and title winning teams. Modern football requires that teams should be well organised, professional and well funded. It is not accidental that the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich have become so dominant in their leagues and in Europe.

Gor Mahia, because of its pedigree, should by now have become a model in African Football. Historical achievements demand that Gor should be much superior to El Merreikh, Azam FC, Yanga, and so on. Lest we forget, it remains the only East African club to have won a continental championship.

What Kenyan football fans should be enjoying now is a Gor competing with and beating the likes of Esperence, Al Ahly, Zamalek, and the rest of the big clubs in Morocco, Algeria, Congo DR, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and South Africa.

All the problems that are preventing Gor Mahia from enjoying lucrative sponsorship deals must be identified and sorted out. The day that we have Gor, AFC Leopards, Tusker, et cetera, competing at the highest level in Africa is the day that Kenyan football will stand tall in African football. We all have a responsibility.  

Gor must bring on their very best against Azam in CECAFA Cup final

As they prepare to face home team Azam FC in the 2015 CECAFA Kagame Cup final later today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Gor Mahia must be ready to put on their very best display if they are to win a cup that has eluded them for 30 good years.

After starting their 2015 campaign brilliantly against Yanga and KMKM of Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar respectively, the Kenyan champions put on unconvincing performances against Al Khartoum of Sudan and Djibouti’s Telekom in their group matches.

Gor Mahia continued this trend at the quarter final stage against South Sudan’s Malakia, whom they unconvincingly beat 2-1. In that match, leading striker Olunga barely made a mark, several players wasted clear scoring chances, and the defence even went to sleep at some point, allowing Malakia to score a totally undeserved goal.

By the semi-finals stage, Gor Mahia realised that Al Khartoum were a dangerous side, especially after the Sudanese representatives dismantled Rwandan champions APR 4-0.

Unlike the 1-1 draw registered against Al Khartoum at the group stages, Gor this time round put on perharps their best performance at the tournament, coming from a goal down to secure a convincing and thoroughly deserved 3-1 victory against the Sudanese, and with it, earned a mouth watering final date against Azam FC.

All of Gor’s departments functioned perfectly, with the defence completely shutting out a very prolific Al Khartoum side. In fact, Gor defended as a team, with lively striker Olunga, back at his best again, often joining in defence and helping launch several counter attacks.

The striker’s industry paid off as he scored one of Gor’s three goals, increasing his own tally to five and putting himself in prime position to win the golden boot.

Gor must play even better in the final to win their sixth CECAFA Kagame Cup. Not only are Azam FC enjoying home team status, they have also proven they are very solid defensively.

Upto the final stage, the team are yet to concede a goal in open play. The only three goals scored against them by Yanga came via a penalty shootout after a 0-0 deadlock in regulation time. The club’s coach Stuart Hall, who previously coached Kenya’s Sofapaka, has been singing praises about his team’s strong defence in the media.

Gor must recognise this and plot how to breach Azam’s defence even as they plan their own defence against a dangerous Azam forwardline spearheaded by Tanzania’s John Boko and Kipre Cheche of Cote d’ivore.

The Kenyan representatives have proven at this championships, as they have throughout the 2015 season, that they can match and beat any body, and they have highly talented individual players who can carry the team if necessary.

This is an opportunity that Gor must not let slip as they plot their way back to the great heights they once soared in African football.