Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has today landed a Kshs 127 million grassroots leagues sponsorship deal from leading sports betting firm Odibets.
The three year multi-million deal will see over 3200 teams playing in all FKF county leagues across the country benefit in an effort to foster development of the sport at the grass root level. All FKF county leagues will now be renamed ‘Odibets County league’
According to the deal, first ever to be cut for the county league tier, every team will get six foot balls and pairs of home and away playing kits as well as bringing the organizational and development structure of the leagues at the county to professional status.메이저사이트
Speaking during the unveiling of the sponsorship deal, Odibets General Manager Dedan Mungai noted that the company’s key focus is to be associated with the growth of the youth and the lowest levels offer the best beginning.
“Through this partnership, we hope to harness and foster the immense untapped potential that our grass-root county leagues have. As we start this journey we take pride in youth development and believe that our brand resonates with the needs of the clubs at the grass-root level,” Mungai said.
“OdiBets and FKF share a similar story and vision with our focus being nurturing raw football talent from the mtaa to national and international stardom. Odibets County leagues are poised to be a game-changer for our grassroots football going forward. We strongly believe that our partnership with FKF will further strengthen the grass-root leagues and offer the thousands of Kenyan youth an opportunity to showcase their talent and create a career out of playing football”, Mungai added.
According to FKF President Nick Mwendwa, this is the first time that the grass-roots leagues are getting a sponsor terming the sponsorship as historic.
“Not only during my tenure, down in history, have this never happened. It is historic,” Mwendwa said.
Mwendwa expressed his delight in the new partnership, acknowledging the crucial role it will play in talent development at the grassroots.
“Every time people have questions for me on twitter and Facebook asking why KPL and NSL have no sponsor, but nobody remembers the lower leagues. These are the leagues that have produced stars like Sydney Lokale but nothing is been done to them,’ He said.
“I thank OdiBets for coming in at this difficult time in football when the sport is facing financial constraints. This shows OdiBets’ commitment to supporting football at the grassroots and it is for this reason that we are happy to partner,” Mwendwa added.
This comes weeks after the second tier National super league landed a 90 million title sponsorship.