Why Safaricom will not be sponsoring Leopards, Gor Mahia anytime soon
Kenya’s leading mobile network operator, Safaricom, say they have no immediate plans of sponsoring football clubs in Kenya.
Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore confirmed as much on Thursday, while speaking at the launch of a grassroots football tournament dubbed “Chapa Dimba”.
“Of course we will never support one team because what happens is that you immediately lose supporters of the other team,” said Collymore.
This statement more or less shuts the window on Safaricom bankrolling Kenya’s top two football teams Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, unless of course, the firm ties up the two teams as is the case with the SportPesa sponsorship that the two clubs currently enjoy.
NEXT BIG TALENT
Interestingly, SportPesa boast a similar arrangement with Tanzania’s top two football clubs, Simba SC and Yanga of Dar es Salaam.
At the Chapa Dimba launch, Safaricom also unveiled Harambee Stars captain and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Victor Wanyama as its brand ambassador.
Wanyama will be the poster boy of this nine-month long tournament which primarily seeks to unearth the country’s next big talent.