SportPesa inject Sh37 million into Kenyan rugby
Kenya Rugby Union boss Sasha Mutai (second elft), SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri (second right) pose for photos with Kenya Sevens players and other KRU officials during a cheque presentation ceremony on June 29, 2023.
What you need to know:
- The six-leg national series kicks off on Saturday with the Dala Sevens in Kisumu.
- SporPesa has also announced a Sh22 million sponsorship for Kenya Sevens for the 2023/2024 season.
Gaming firm SportPesa on Thursday announced a Sh15 million title sponsorship for the 2023 National Sevens Circuit and Sh22 million for Kenya Shujaa for 2023/2024 season.
The six-leg national series kicks off on Saturday with the Dala Sevens in Kisumu.
SporPesa has also announced a Sh22 million sponsorship for Kenya Sevens for the 2023/2024 season.
During the sponsorship launch, SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri said they were in rugby to stay because they believed in the potential of the game.
SportPesa said hosting clubs Kisumu (Dala Sevens), Mombasa (Driftwood), Nakuru (Prinsloo), Nairobi (Christie), Eldoret (Tisap) and Nairobi (Kabeberi) will receive Sh1 million to aid their operations.
Top-three sides in every leg of the top-tie men’s competition will take home Sh100,000, Sh50,000 and Sh25,000 respectively.
At the culmination of the annual event, which will now go by the name SportPesa Sevens Circuit, champions will pocket Sh400,000, while second and third-placed teams will get Sh200,000 and Sh150,000, respectively.
Second-tier winners from every leg will be rewarded with Sh50,000. Women’s teams will compete at Prinsloo, Christie and Kabeberi, with the best two sides in every leg going home Sh70,000 and Sh30,000 richer.
At the function attended by Kenya Sevens, Kenya Simbas and Kenya Lionesses players, SportPesa assured that it will support Kenya Sevens to the tune of Sh22 million.
“There were widespread rumours that we will stop supporting Shujaa after it was relegated from the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series last month. On the contrary, we as SportPesa are here to stay. Our business environment is still not that good since that shutdown in 2019. We were shut down for no reason, but now the environment is improving. We believe returning to the Sevens Series is achievable and will work together with KRU to achieve that goal,” said Karauri.
KRU officials Sasha Mutai (chairman), Moses Ndale (vice-chairman) and Harriet Okach (commercial services) along with clubs thanked SportPesa for supporting rugby, saying it was a sign of confidence in the new board and will spur the growth of the game.
