Online sports betting firm SportPesa has agreed a deal to become the headline partner of the Kenya Rugby Union.
The five-year agreement will run until 2021. SportPesa chief executive Ronald Karauri said the deal would be worth KES607m (€5.4m/$6m).
The agreement will focus on development of the sport in the country, with SportPesa to provide backing for Kenya’s 15-a-side, U19 and women’s teams, as well as KRU's ‘Get Into Rugby’ youth programme.
A performance-based incentive programme will also be introduced for the three aforementioned teams as part of the deal.
“The idea of this partnership is to put dedicated resources behind each national team to ensure that there is depth and sustainability at all levels of KRU so that our selectors have a rich pool of talents to draw from for our national teams,” Karauri said.
Earlier this month, the KRU agreed a partnership with Tatu City, an urban development project in the capital city of Nairobi. The partnership aims to boost the development of Kenya’s 15-a-side team, with Tatu City having agreed to provide KES5m in sponsorship for Kenya’s two Test matches against Hong Kong next month.