SportPesa Renews Support to football and announces Hull City Visit To Kenya
SportPesa, the country’s largest gaming firm, has signed new partnership agreements with four notable football entities in the country.
Gor Mahia FC and AFC Leopards will see SportPesa come on board as their main sponsors while the Kenyan Premier League has welcomed the company as its Title Sponsor, a partnership that will see the league renamed to SportPesa Premier League. The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has also entered into a three-year partnership with SportPesa with the aim of further developing the standards of local football.
“We are extremely excited to be able to partner with these four powerful industry players. As we have always maintained, developing local football talent is a key vision for our company,” said SportPesa CEO, Captain Ronald Karauri.
“Despite the economic policy setbacks we have suffered over the past few months, we remain committed to supporting local sports as much as we can to get Kenya where it should be, among the great football nations of the world.”
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SportPesa will feature prominently on the front of the Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards shirts for the next 3 three years.
“Partnerships mean a lot to us as they enable us to tangibly impact communities and leave a lasting legacy – the journey of Qatar 2022 continues and we are honored to be part of that journey,” added Captain Karauri.
HULL CITY TO TOUR KENYA IN HISTORIC VISIT
Speaking at the same press conference, the company also announced that English football club Hull City’s first team is set to make a historic maiden trip to Kenya in what will be a major score for the country’s football development goals.
The visit by the team which plays in the Championship league in the UK is aimed at exposing local players to international competition and increasing their exposure on the world football scene.
The team that will face Hull City will be decided at a Mashemeji Derby where AFC Leopards will face off with Gor Mahia on 1st May at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru. The winner will book a date with the Nigel Adkins-led side.
Hull City is expected to arrive in Kenya on May 11th on a five-day tour that will also feature several other activities.
“To mark our return to football sponsorship, we are looking forward to welcoming Hull City to Kenya – and are excited to expose some of the talent these two teams have to this level of competition. Our partnership with Hull City is intended to benefit local players – and that is why they will also be conducting a coaching clinic and a training camp while they are here,” said SportPesa CEO Captain Ronald Karauri.
SportPesa is the Main Sponsor and Official African Betting Partner of the club, a deal that was inked/signed in 2016. The sponsorship, besides putting SportPesa on the shirt of the English team has so far yielded multiple benefits for Kenyan football.
This will be the second time a Kenyan team plays the club after a Kenyan AllStars team faced a development-side Hull City team at the KCOM Stadium in UK on February 27, 2017. The All-Stars team was made up of 18 top players picked from various SportPesa Premier League clubs.
Hull City Coach, Nigel Adkins, said, “This is an exciting opportunity for the club to be able to go play in Kenya. The passion for football out there is enormous and we can’t wait to interact with the local teams. I’m very honored to be the first Coach to bring the team to Africa!”
The exhibition match between Hull City FC and the Kenyan team will be played at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi on May 13th.
Crowning 2018 as a ‘Football Year’ for the company, Karauri said SportPesa is engaging more of its partners for exciting development projects which the company is embarking on soon.