A Nigerian sports betting firm has cancelled its sponsorship of Kenya’s main football league, the two sides said, days after two of the country’s top teams complained of non-payments.
BetKing and the Football Kenya Federation said in a joint statement that they had reached a mutual agreement to terminate the $11 million (9.4 million euro) deal.
They did not give a reason for terminating the contract.
Kenyan football has long been beset by financial woes often stemming from poor management and corruption.
It faced a financial crisis after the exit of another title sponsor, online gaming firm SportPesa, in September 2019 following a protracted tax row with the government.
“Unreservedly, FKF confirms that the support received from BetKing has played a crucial part in fostering the growth of local football game,” FKF president Nick Mwendwa and BetKing Kenya country director Ivana Ristic said in the statement.
The two outfits will explore other ways to collaborate in the future, they added.
The betting firm took over as the league’s title sponsor in July 2020, in a partnership that was to run until 2025.
At the time, FKF said the sponsorship was the biggest deal in the history of Kenyan football.
But it appears to have recently run into trouble when football clubs complained they were not receiving their share of the deal, a claim denied by FKF.
“We have paid all the clubs since November except in the month of July when BetKing didn’t pay us,” Mwendwa told AFP on Saturday.
“We’re committed to paying all the monies before the end of season.”
The East African country’s most successful clubs, Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, failed to play in a local derby last month, saying FKF had not paid them for being winner and runner-up in a domestic cup.
(AFP)
