New football deal timely – Daily Nation

By EDITORIAL

On Thursday, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) announced it has signed a five-year, Sh1.2 billion sponsorship deal for the local league with gaming company BetKing.

The league – hitherto known as the Kenyan Premier League – will now be known as the BetKing Premier League in the new arrangement. This, however, is matter that should be interrogated; renaming the league has implication on its identity and independence.

The offshoot is that each of the 18 clubs competing in this top-tier competition will receive at least Sh8 million in annual grants.

We hope FKF President Nick Mwendwa and his team will ensure good governance and accountability in the use of funds.

And with FKF elections round the corner, we only hope that the deal is not for campaigning, but that it’s indeed part of a long-term strategy to get the Kenyan game out of the woods.

Kenyan clubs were left teetering on the brink of collapse after another gaming giant, SportPesa, ceased its operations in Kenya recently and, therefore, stopped financing the league and individual clubs.

While we welcome the latest sponsorship deal, it is prudent for both the federation and clubs not to put all their eggs in one basket. They need to look for other sponsors to support the game.

We hope club officials have learnt from previous experience and exploring opportunities to widen their revenue streams to cushion themselves against the rapidly changing economic times that have run even well-heeled blue chip companies aground.

Club managements must also be transparent and accountable in order for the benefits of the BetKing sponsorship to trickle down to the players as ought to be the case.