Gor Mahia fans at a past match. The Kenyan league is set to change its name after Sportpesa withdrew its sponsorship. [Photo/goal.com
After the withdrawal of the Sportpesa as the official sponsors of the Kenyan Premier League, the league might change its name once again.
According to the KPL Chief Executive Officer Jack Oguda and Chairman Dan Aduda, who spoke to the Nation, they are still exploring the options they have as they aim to generate cash for the league.
“We have had an internal meeting and we shall be communicating the changes soon because it looks unlikely that the former sponsors will be back with us in the near future,” Oguda said.
According to the two officials, they have engaged their lawyers in an effort to arrive at legally sound decisions.
“Since last week, we have been awaiting advice from our lawyers who are looking at the letter from SportPesa and the contract we had with them. That is why the name hasn’t changed,” Aduda said.
“Remember also that we have the league awards gala this Friday which is sponsored by the same company. We didn’t want to jeopardise that. The name is definitely bound to change after that because we can’t attract a new title sponsor when we look like we have one.”
“We haven’t received any inquiries yet from other companies, but our marketing and sponsorship committee is already working on identifying potential partners. We hope that SportPesa will make headway with the government soon so that they can return,” said Oguda.
Sportpesa had initially acquired the naming rights of the league after they entered into a contract with league organisers.
They, Sportpesa, however, withdrew from the deal last week, after the government changed their tax regime, needing them to pay a 35 percent tax.