By Timothy Olobulu
Narok — Kenyan betting firm SportPesa have this morning announced an extension of their partnership with English Premier League club Arsenal, a deal that will see the company become the North London club’s official betting partner in Africa.
Previously, in a deal signed in January this year, SportPesa brought Arsenal on board as the official betting partner in Kenya.
The new contract was signed in an elaborate ceremony early Friday morning in a hot air balloon hovering around the Maasai Mara National reserve.
The deal is geared towards nurturing grassroots football and supporting SportPesa’s existing sponsorship of the Kenyan Premier League. This will see local talent get exposure to advanced sporting skills as well as capacity building through interaction with Arsenal and other activities across the continent.
Kenyan football coaches benefited from the first of this partnership late May in a coaching clinic conducted in Nairobi by Arsenal’s community coaches.
The partnership with Arsenal will help the company engage with a huge number of supporters across Africa.
SportPesa will have a presence on a match day at Emirates Stadium, with local football talent that the company is looking to develop offered a number of club related benefits such as official merchandise, tickets to matches and the chance to experience the world class hospitality at Emirates Stadium.
As part of the partnership with Arsenal, additional five-day training camps will be carried out by Arsenal-trained coaching staff.
The training camps have been designed to ensure both footballers and coaches learn to incorporate the key principles of ‘playing the Arsenal way’.
Launching the partnership, SportPesa Chief Executive Officer Ronald Karauri said, “Enhancing and expanding our partnership with Arsenal gives us a wonderful opportunity to connect with more people all over Africa, through both our grassroots coaching and also promotional activities with the club and its players.”
Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are delighted to announce the expansion of our association with SportPesa across Africa following a successful first year of partnership in Kenya.”
The betting firm has been expanding its wings globally, only two weeks ago having signed a contract with English premier League side Hull City as the club’s official sponsors as well as a partnership with Southampton FC which will see the company become the Saints’ official betting partner in the continent