“Ushirika are going to have a tough time, Eastleigh is going to have a tough time”

Ushirika Gaming Crave kicked off their Ma Esto Feature in a loss to Maringo’s BushHunters Gaming Lounge during the Third Stream Test. 

Eastleigh’s Muktar Abdirahman conceded a penalty in the first minutes to award BushHunters’ led by Edwin Ndirangu an easy goal in the first minutes of play. The offensive mistakes by Ushirika Gaming were a blessing to Maringo’s Edwin as he capitalized on each of them to set him and his team clear chances of scoring.

“Costly mistakes put dents on Eastleigh.” 

Passing mistakes, ball losses during attacks, & misdirected passes were just a few of the many blunders Eastleigh Ushirika Gaming Lounge made in their debut match against Maringo’s BushHunters Gaming Lounge. 

Eastleigh, so composed in the first half, had Edwin rethink strategy. “Maringo continued to capitalize of Ushirika’s mistakes to keep possession and push for goals.” The Hunters’ ability to understand their opponents’ game within seconds into the match gave them a lot of confidence to sit back and wait for Ushirika to make mistakes so that they capitalize.

Edwin “Drag” Ndirangu of BushHunters scored four goals passed Ushirika’s net. BushHunters pushes their Win-Loss record to 1-1 in the Ma Esto Stream Test matches. A consolation goal in the second half by Ushirika saw them add a figure to their Ma Esto stats.

PAST STREAM TEST RESULTS 

Kahawa Sukari SPE Gaming Lounge (2) – BuruBuru Qwerty Gaming Lounge (4) 

Maseno Horizon Gaming Lounge (3) – Maringo BushHunters Gaming Lounge (2) 

Maringo BushHunters Gaming Lounge (4) – Eastleigh Ushirika Gaming Crave (1) 

Ma Esto Season Two shall return soon. 

“Kettering Town F.C had to crawl so that many could walk.”

As soccer continues to change in Kenya, so is its sponsorship space. The current soccer sponsorship market represents a slight shift towards the BUSINESS of sports as many clubs in the pyramid front sponsorship as the largest revenue earner.

Sports is becoming a global phenomenon as many Leagues from domestic markets are positioning themselves to tap into the “Transfer Market Business“, which had a KES.486 billion value in transfer fees as per 2021 numbers and data. With the numbers mentioned, corporate entities are looking to position themselves as sponsors for visibility, product-service drives, and local community partnerships.

THE FKF PL CASE:
Which companies have their logo on each of the FKF-PL participating club shirts?
The Kenyan top-tier league is attracting corporate sponsorships at League and Club levels. Many corporate sponsorships are for visibility, and as a way to build local community partnerships and activations.

Betting companies still hold the majority of the club shirt sponsorship slots while State Corporations/Parastatals come second. The entry of betting companies into the local soccer market can be accredited to the rise of digital transformation in Kenya and Africa at large.

The ease of access to information and internet connection has fueled the betting craze in Kenya. Many betting companies find it easy to advertise and promote their brands using sports, social media (influencers and paid ads) as some opt for tv.

Despite the legal issues encountered by Kenya's betting company Sportpesa, gambling companies continue to take a grip of the ever-growing Kenya sporting market.

INSIDE THE FKFPL SHIRT SPONSORSHIP

Betting & Gambling (33%):
Gor Mahia FC (Betsafe), AFC Leopards (Betsafe), Kakamega Homeboyz (Mozzart Bet), Sofapaka FC (Betika), Kariobangi Sharks (Betway) and Police FC (Betika)

Finance & Banking (11%):
Wazito F.C (Aidos Kuneen) and KCB FC (KCB)

State Corporation/Parastatal/Ministry (28%):
Posta Rangers F.C (Posta Kenya), Talanta F.C (Communications Authority of Kenya), Bandari F.C (Kenya Ports Authority), Ulinzi Stars FC (KDF), Nzoia Sugar
F.C (Nzoia Sugar)

Foods & Beverages (6%):
Tusker F.C (Tusker Brand, EABL)

Non-Governmental Organizations (6%)
Nairobi City Stars F.C (Jonathan Jackson Foundation)

“Sports in the E.A. market”

There are various reasons to be deeply excited about the East African sports market this year with several sporting attractions lined up. The market with a population of over two hundred eighty-five million (285 million) people is trying to position itself as a regional and global powerhouse in sports by attracting key global events while building its own homegrown sporting attractions. 

Last year saw the return of sports leagues and competitions in various disciplines after a period of uncertainty and business losses affected by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Local leagues in the region resumed without fans due to the country’s COVID-19 restrictions. The two rugby powerhouses in the region resumed their rugby operations with Kenya opting for both 15s & 7s in preparation for the RAC Gold Cup (world cup qualifier) games slated for 3Q22 in France and the HSBC Tour heading into its fifth leg in January while Uganda focused heavily on their sevens tour series hosting all legs successfully. In Rwanda, the country held the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) featuring twelve teams. Rwanda also managed to play host to the CAVB Women and Men Championships 2021. 

What is on the plate this year? 

1. KENYA 

Kenya will play host to big sporting attractions this year after securing rights to host global events while at the same time, local organizations are slowly growing homegrown events with sights to reach global levels. The East African nation will play host to different sports competitions such as: 

• Agnes Tirop Cross Country Classic (Gold) (February 12th 2022)
• DP World Tour 2022 Golf (March 6th-9th) 
• Kip Keino Classic (Gold Tour) (May 7th) 
• FASU Games 2022 (June 6th-10th)
• Esports WRC Championships (Virtual Track) (June 17th– 20th)
• WRC Safari Rally (June 23rd – 26th)
• Local Sevens Series (May 7th-June 26th) 
• Safari Sevens (TBC) 

2. UGANDA 

The Pearl of Africa will play host to a roster of Badminton Competitions after securing rights for the Badminton Confederation Africa Games 2022. Uganda will play host to the following series;

• All Africa Men’s & Women’s Team Continental Championships Badminton (February 14th-17th)
• All Africa Individual Championships International Series Badminton (February 18th-20th)
• Uganda International 2022 (February 24th-27th) 
• Uganda Junior International 2022 Future Series (February 28th – March 2nd) 
• Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens Cup (April 23rd – 24th) 
• All Africa Para-Badminton Championship 2022 (September 12th – 18th) 
• Uganda Para-Badminton International 2022 (September 18th – 25th) 
• Local Sevens Series (TBC) 

3. RWANDA 

The “Land of a Thousand Hills”, with its iconic indoor arena and futuristic approach to sports management is making great strides towards attracting global events such as the World Road Cycling Championships 2025 and the Basketball Africa League 2022 Playoffs & Finals. 

• Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season Two Playoffs and Finals (May 21st-28th)
• Tour du Rwanda (February 20th-27th)