KPL clubs chairmen welcome League sponsorship deal

Kenya Premier League clubs chairmen have thrown their weight behind the League sponsorship deal announced by Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa on Thursday.

Mwendwa said that the Sh1.2 billion five-year deal with a Nigerian gaming firm will see each of the 18 top-tier clubs pocket at least Sh8 million annually.

And AFC leopards chairman Dan Shikanda has hailed the effort of the federation saying it will ease the burden of clubs who have struggled to meet their operation costs.

“It’s a good thing for the clubs especially during this time when most of the clubs don’t have sponsors, we are hoping the match officials will also be sorted because the clubs used to pay close to Sh40,000 to the match officials.

The amount given to the clubs will be used to sort out other logistics that will make things a little bit easy,”said Shikanda.

His  sentiments were echoed by Nzoia Sugar chairman Evans Kadenge whose team once missed a trip to Mombasa to face Bandari FC due to lack of fare.

“If they have agreed to the deal and it’s transparent then it’s good for the teams because it’s very expensive to run a club,” Kadenge said. “The players will be settled and will be more focused on delivering on the pitch rather than thinking what they will eat and how they will provide for their families,” explained Kadenge .

Having seen the Kenya Power and Lighting Company end their sponsorship deals with Western Stima, Nairobi Stima and Coast Stima last month, Laban Jobita, the chairman for Western Stima, lauded the move and urged more sponsors to come on board and support football in the country.

“At the moment very few teams can support themselves; it’s a good initiative from FKF and we are hoping it’s the beginning of many more sponsors coming on board, because one sponsor alone is not enough to run these clubs comfortably,” Jobita told Citizen Digital.

Under the FKF deal with the Nigerian gaming firm, there will be an increase of 5% in year two of the contract and a 10 percent increase in year three.