“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)

One of the best things about the Ma Esto (Test Match) between BuruBuru’s Qwerty Gaming Lounge and Kahawa Shuge’s SPE Lounge is the fact that we probably saw a new contender step into the conversation of which Ma Esto Program has the best recruitment drives, which community can build the next big thing in Kenyan grassroots FIFA Esports.

Ma Esto Test Match One 

The Ma Esto program started running stream tests with newly registered gaming lounges seeking to welcome them to the grassroots matches. 

Played in a One N’ Done format, the Test Matches will see older lounges playing against the newly registered ones. 

These stream tests/test matches will help the new lounges get used and fully adapt to the program activities. We project to see stiffer competition in the upcoming season as new lounges will be fielding with unknown heavyweights. 

SPE Gaming Lounge v. Qwerty Gaming Lounge 

The boys from Kahawa Sukari came with only one thing in their mind, and that was to “not lose” and they held their side of the plan. Led by Timothy “Timo” the lounge manager, the shuge boys came prepared to face off BuruBuru’s Qwerty Gaming Lounge.   

The match was played by their first recruit Ian Ouyu who managed a long lead of 2-1 up to the 89th minute after which he blew it with a costly defensive mistake that saw Qwerty Gaming Lounge level up the score. 

(The match did not go into extra-time as stated above, this was due to connection and comms issues)

“The fact that we almost saw the second-ranked team in the program lose their first attempt against a new lounge shows how competitive the FIFA22 FUT season will be.” Says Ace Pro. With newer lounges jumping in the journey, we await to see the chaos in the name of competition displayed amongst grassroots teams. 

More Stream Tests/Test Matches

Ace Pro through its FIFA division will see more Test matches as the FIFA21 season comes to an end. The new lounges will play against the old ones in a revolving format with each lounge playing against at least two of the four lounges. 

Follow @eLigSeries on all our social platforms for more updates and information.

Ace Pro Gaming through its theme over the years has always been to BUILD COMMUNITIES in the electronic sports eco-system in Kenya. 

The esports sector in Kenya continues to grow with many different competitions happening both online and offline. “We are seeing the demand in esports tournaments just as it was in 2018 while at the same time an increase in the number of tournament organizers.” 

After a successful first season of the Ma Esto League Program that saw the Parklands-based Horizon Gaming Lounge carry the league, Ace Pro through its FIFA Division will be launching a new competitive division called REQUESTS. 

INSIDE THE REQUESTS

The REQUEST platform will be an on-demand competitive fixture that gives friends, social circles, individuals and corporate brands the power to request up to two registered Ma Esto Programs to play a match on a specific date in the schedule. 

“Request who you want to watch” 

 We look at the future of Esports especially broadcast purely decentralized. The REQUEST platform gives power to FIFA fans and the wider community members like content creators, small businesses, and journalists the ability to access and choose which players and teams they’d love to watch play. 

“The access to the REQUEST platform is the biggest part- easy, affordable, and will be readily available to everyone globally,” says Fanuel.  

“Two packages”

Split into two packages, one targeting individuals, social circles, friends while the second package will be for corporate companies and brands. “The players and lounge managers will receive a percentage share from the revenue generated from requests.” The packages will range from 799 KES (8$) to 13,999 KES (140$) making it affordable to access the Kenyan esports scene. 

Follow our social media pages for new and more information regarding REQUESTS and other esports updates. 

Parklands-based gaming lounge and Esports Organization Horizon won the inaugural Ma Esto Program League in a convincing final against Buru Buru’s Qwerty Gaming Lounge. 

Led by Jackson, Horizon Gaming Lounge beat Qwerty 2-0 in a best of three-match series, winning both games convincingly. Jackson managed to net in eight goals passed Justin of the Buru58 team finishing the finals with 5-1, 3-1 scores.

Jackson came into the final as the favourite. He did not lose any match since his first-ever feature (Round Five). The Horizon player has gone 7-1 (W-L), 2 of the wins being in the scheduled Round Finals while two in the Ma Esto: Fainali. 

The two finalists finished the League having met five times, the Parklands assassin Jackson owning Justine four times. 

Catch the Ma Esto: Fainali RE-RUN this week Friday (6th August 2021) on our YouTube & Twitch Channels.

Ace Pro Gaming will be fully implementing its payout system that has been used by the Savanna Fight Night competitions, Ma Esto League & University Weekends. The core basis of the payout structure is to ease entry into our League operations, cushion esports players & managers in Kenya, and grow our competitive systems.

“More of payouts for everyone, and less of prize competitions for the top finishers only.” Says Ace Pro League Department. 

As we continue with our vision of building sustainable esports communities, payments to our players remain key. Making it easy for local gamers to enter competitions and earn out of their feature rather than only wins. 

The payment system focuses on reimbursing all players a cushion payout whether one loses or not. It also further encompasses a bonus for the wins making it more competitive.