Tax breaks on the cards, Ababu pledges to sports sponsors

The government has re-opened discussions with corporates with a view to offering them tax breaks as an incentive for investing in sports sponsorships.

Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba says the government has invested heavily in sports and would like private sector players to shore up private-public partnership funding for the benefit of the country’s sportsmen and women.

He spoke at a partners’ breakfast meeting with the Department of Sports at his Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports held in Nairobi Tuesday where he also revisited the government’s commitment to rewarding athletes by announcing a Sh5 million cash reward for Agnes Ng’etich who on Sunday became the first woman to run the 10-kilometre road race in under 29 minutes.

World Cross Country Championships bronze medalist Ng’etich set a new world record over the distance of 28 minutes and 46 seconds at the 10k Valencia Ibercaja race in Spain and benefits from the government cash rewards for record breakers.

“We are looking at discussing tax breaks and tax incentives, and this is an opportunity for you (corporates) to grow your market,” the CS said.

He spoke passionately about the government’s commitment to developing sports and talent from the grassroots level under the “Talanta Hela” initiative that seeks to monetize sport, pointing out fledgling projects that include basketball development under the newly-launched partnership with the United States National Basketball Association (NBA), the launch of a rally school and development of young golfing talent.

“Our team has worked incredibly hard in the last one year… Today, I pay special tribute to the team at the ministry that inherited a sector in a total mess…,” Namwamba, who was flanked by Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum, Evans Achoki (Secretary Administration in the State Department of Sports) and Pauline Sheghu (Communication Director at the ministry) among others.

“We inherited football that was in limbo, suspended by the international football federation, Fifa; we inherited rugby that was on a free-fall, ultimately culminating in Kenya falling out of the HSBC World Series; we inherited a swimming federation that had been in limbo and banned by World Aquatics for seven years; Kenya’s premier sporting discipline, athletics, was on the verge of being banned by World Athletics because of doping…

“The ministry has performed what I consider to be a miracle, to turn around the scenario to the scenario we have today where our sports trajectory is rising to a level never seen before,” Namwamba narrated.

East African Breweries Limited, whose Tusker branch has already jumped onto sponsorship for Team Kenya’s road to the Paris Olympics, Safaricom, KCB Bank Kenya, Toyota by CFAO Motors, Mozzartbet, SportPesa, Visa and Absa Bank Kenya were some of the corporates at Tuesday’s partners’ breakfast meeting that was also attended by heads of various sports federations and organisations.

They listened to presentations around four major upcoming events, namely the Magical Kenya Ladies Open to be played at Vipingo from February 8 to 11, the Magical Kenya Open set for February 22 to 25, the World Rally Championship Safari Rally that runs from March 28 to 31 and the Paris Olympics to be held from July 26 to August 11.

Namwamba nudged top corporates in Kenya - especially EABL and KCB - to invest more in community football clubs, assuring them of better returns than bankrolling in-house outfits like Tusker FC and KCB FC, respectively, which are serial Kenyan Premier League campaigners but with paltry following.

He highlighted the government’s Sh240 million investment in football that will see the Football Kenya Federation Premier League matches broadcast live on public broadcaster KBC as a sign of commitment to the development of sport in the country.

“Each team in the Premier League is now guaranteed Sh10 million a season,” he noted, adding that the prize money structure for the top tier league has also been addressed with winners to get Sh5 million, and the prize money trickling down the finish order.

“We are also considering a package for the Women’s Premier League, National Super League and grassroots leagues,” Namwamba added.