Seek more sports sponsors
The financial woes facing the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF), which this week threatened to derail the women’s national team’s preparations for a crucial international assignment, served as a timely reminder to our local sports federations on the need to be self-reliant.
In April, the KVF submitted a budget of Sh46 million to the Ministry of Sports for the national women’s volleyball team’s trip to Brazil for a two-month training camp to prepare for the Women’s World Championships, which is scheduled for September 23 to October 15 in Netherlands and Poland.
Until yesterday, the government was non-committal about providing funds for air tickets, Covid-19 tests and allowances. It took the intervention of sports betting firm Mozzart Bet to salvage Malkia Strikers’ trip to Brazil through a Sh10 million sponsorship deal with the federation. The team, which is scheduled to depart on Sunday for South America, can now focus fully on preparing for the competition.
The deal makes Mozzart Bet the Title Sponsors of Malkia Strikers. The KVF and other federations should learn from this experience and avoid overlying on the government to fund their activities. It is high time our federations employed marketing professionals to link their top products – read the national team, their stars and elite leagues – to the corporate world and leverage on mutually beneficial partnerships to improve the welfare of players.
Currently, betting firms are the sponsors of sports in Kenya, but the pool of potential sponsors is large, with the banking, manufacturing and insurance sectors all viable options. It is upon federations to work hand in hand with marketing professionals to package their products in such a way that they will be appealing to potential partners. It’s a shame that our gallant national teams, which have repeatedly conquered Africa – as Malkia Strikers and Shujaa have done – continue struggle to get meaningful sponsorship.
