Nairobi City Stars, as well as all other teams in the second tier National Super League (NSL), are set to earn Kshs 750,000 each season for three seasons, as well as receive 20 quality footballs, after the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) entered a partnership with leading betting firm Betika on Tuesday 11 November 2019.
According to the partnership deal, Betika will pump in Kshs 90 million to FKF to sponsor the NSL for three years starting with the ongoing 2019/2020 season that is almost half way through.
The sponsorship deal was announced through the recently launched ‘Betika Na Community Initiative’, which aims to invest in the youth by nurturing talent through Sports, Arts and Culture events.
Through the sponsorship, Betika will be the sole and official grassroots football partner for FKF with Ksh 45M going directly to financing grassroot football activities across the 47 counties.
At the Tuesday presser, Mr John Mbatiah, the firm’s Commercial Head said; “This partnership confirms our commitment to investing in the community through sports, arts and culture with football being a key focus. Through this, we aim to improve the standards of the game as we nurture talent both at the grassroot and national level. We also believe we can influence positive change among the youth through creating an atmosphere of talents and skills development in sports. These are the same players who will hopefully steer Kenya to qualify for the 2022 World Cup”
FKF President, Mr Nick Mwendwa, lauded Betika for coming on board at a crucial time by saying, “Today we mark yet another milestone by launching a partnership for our NSL clubs which we believe will go a long way towards not only easing the clubs’ financial obligations but also increasing the leagues’ monetary incentive.”
Away from the launch and adding his voice on the latest development was Mwenesi Musalia the current CEO of Jonathan Jackson Foundation (JJF), the sponsor of Nairobi City Stars. He said;
“This partnership is most welcome. Any little steps towards bringing sponsors to the NSL is well received by City Stars. The incoming finances will help in easing off a burden of costs as we plan our games. We thank both FKF and Betika in striking this deal that will go a long way in adding the value as well as competitiveness of the NSL.”
Following the FKF-Betika marriage, the second tier will now be known as Betika National Super League.
It comes at a time the league has completed 13 rounds and on the eve of the next set of matches to be played on Wednesday 13 November 2019.