Gor Mahia needs long term sponsorship deals

Amidst the Nairobi weather that is way too colder than ex-lover’s heart, there was some glitter of hope and a sliver of warmth when it was announced last  week that our beloved Gor Mahia Football Club had signed a multi-million shirt sponsorship deal with yet another betting company Betafriq.

Now for the love of me, I had never heard of Betafriq and had no idea whether they have a fixed abode or not on these our shores. Add on to that the fact that I did not even know when they came into the Kenyan market.

Betafriq just like its predecessor Betsafe who were Gor Mahia’s previous shirt sponsors, very little if any is known about our new shirt sponsors.

Be that as it may, I would be the last person to look at a gift horse in the mouth and towards that end I am welcoming the new shirt sponsors with open arms.

Karibuni ladies and gentlemen and one thing I can assure you of is that you are entering into a matrimony with a groom of pedigree and you will be getting more than your money’s worth. The fanatical, nay religious, support Gor Mahia fans aka Green Army has for our club is unmatched on the local scene and you have a good chance to leverage this to your business’s advantage.

Today I want to throw a spanner into the works and put the bold statement that it was time we take a closer and critical look at the whole shirt sponsors affair.

Betafriq is Gor Mahia’s fourth shirt sponsor in just about a decade since Tuzo came to partner with the club in 2012. From then we have had Sportpesa and more recently Betsafe.
But how have these sponsorships helped the club beyond paying players' salaries?

To be honest, I can say without any doubt that there has been nothing tangible.

Which begs the question, do we look for sponsorships just to manage our daily needs?

Time has come for us to set up targets in any sponsorship agreement that we sign. Apart from money to pay players' salaries, we need to have a sponsorship partner who is ready to work with the club towards setting up a club house, a training ground and/or even a stadium.

In such an agreement, the sponsor will get naming rights for instance if it is a stadium and will get more visibility than just having their name and logo on the shirt.

But this calls for a long-term deal like the one Arsenal have with Emirates or Manchester City with Etihad.

The problem we have is our clubs sign short-term sponsorship contracts which give the sponsor leeway to exit leaving the club in limbo.

While we appreciate that at least over the last decade we have managed to get shirt sponsorship as opposed to previously when the club would survive on handouts from politicians and well-wishers, we must now also have a strong say in the sponsorship agreements that we are signing.

I am not privy to the clauses in the current contract with Betafriq but I can bet to my last coin that they have the freedom to walk away even after reading the last word in this article.

So to club boss Ambrose Rachier who is a respected lawyer in Kenya, lets see how we can get long term partners who will help the club grow even as we explore ways to establish long term, sustainable measures at the club.