Hard blow for Kenyan sports as SportPesa cancels sponsorships

Kenyan sports were badly hit after the winners of the sports game confirmed that they were immediately canceling any sports sponsorship in the country.

SportPesa is a direct sponsor of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) and two top-level clubs - AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia, injecting 96 million shillings, 55 million shillings and 65 million shillings directly into the three entities. other sports.

The company, alongside other gaming companies, however, had problems with the government after the Secretary of the Interior Office, Fred Matiangi, canceled their operating licenses for tax reasons and their numbers M -Pesa Paybill were then blocked.

The firm, in a statement to the press rooms Friday, confirmed that it immediately ended all sports sponsorship in the country.

"As a company, SportPesa is subject to punitive measures such as the delay in the renewal of licenses and the suspension of the number of invoices, these actions considerably reducing the level of commercial operations. This despite the existence of a court order prohibiting the regulator from taking such measures, "read the statement.

"This has put tremendous pressure on companies, which has necessitated a re-evaluation of some plans. In light of these developments, we unfortunately wish to announce that due to the uncertainty surrounding this situation, SportPesa will immediately cancel sports sponsorship. All clubs and partners will have received the notifications provided in their contracts ... ", he adds.


KPL President Jack Oguda said the cancellation of sponsorship would have a significant impact on Kenyan football in general. He also revealed that with the recent development, the 2019/20 season may not start at the end of the month, as previously planned.

"We have made tremendous progress in the league since SportPesa is the main sponsor, but all of this is about to go down the drain. Clubs, players, the league itself, employees, administrators and their dependents will really struggle. The league scheduled for launch later this month may not be launched, which will also affect the national team. The situation is sad, "Oguda told Nation Sport.

"We will have a meeting with all the clubs, the Kenya Football Federation (FKF) and other stakeholders at the earliest next Tuesday to discuss the way forward," he added.

FKF President Nick Mwendwa echoed Oguda's sentiments; "It's a sad day. Football will lose a lot. "

AFC President on Leopards Dan Shikanda urged the government to resolve the stalemate as soon as possible. "The future of the club is very dark with the cancellation of our sponsorship. The government needs to reconsider its position and solve the problems it has with SportPesa, "he said.

SportPesa and 19 other betting companies allegedly failed to prove to the BCLB that they complied with the tax rules. BCLB claims that the companies earned Ksh 204 billion last year, but only paid KK4 billion in taxes.