Tusker or Gor Mahia to receive nothing with league win but what are other East Africa teams getting?

© FKF, Vipers, Viwanjani Leo

FOOTBALL Tusker or Gor Mahia to receive nothing with league win but what are other East Africa teams getting?

Joel Omotto 07:56 - 01.06.2023

Pulse Sports highlights how much league winners in the region pocket in the wake of FKF’s revelation that Kenyan champions will walk home empty-handed

Tusker FC, Gor Mahia, or Nzoia Sugar FC will go home empty-handed in case either of them is crowned Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) champions.

This is after FKF president Nick Mwendwa revealed last week that the local top flight is paying the price for Kenya’s FIFA ban as it affected the federation’s coffers, meaning there will be no cash rewards for the league winners.

"We will not have any prize giving, where is the money going to come from? This was just a rescue season,” Mwendwa told the Standard last week. 

“We might want to try and even have a gala, but we don’t have the statistics and a committee in place that should have been following players’ performances.”

The announcement elicited an outcry from local football stakeholders who feel the federation should have found means to reward the league winners. 

FKFPL winners previously received Ksh5 million but that is not anything compared to what some of Kenya’s counterparts in the region are being rewarded with.

Tanzania -Ksh35.2m

In Tanzania, Yanga, who have just retained their league title received Tsh600m (Ksh35.2 million) for winning the crown which is a result of the Tanzania Premier League Board’s broadcast partnership with Azam TV and National Bank of Commerce (NBC).

From the Tsh600m cash prize, Tsh500m (Ksh29.3 million) is from Azam, which shows just how big TV rights are to football, while Tsh100m (Ksh5.8 million) is from NBC.

In Tanzania, all the teams in the league also receive a cash reward courtesy of the 10-year Tsh225.6b (Ksh13.2 billion) deal with Azam and the three-year Tsh2.5b (Ksh1.4 billion) contract with NBC.

Ethiopia -Ksh25.5 million

In Ethiopia, winners take home 10.9 million birrs (Ksh25.5 million) as a result of the league’s sponsorship with South African broadcaster SuperSport.

St George pocketed this amount last season, and could do it again this term given they lead the 16-team standings on 55 points, five ahead of second-placed Bahir Dar Kenema, with four matches remaining.

The Ethiopian league also has a sponsorship deal with betting firm BetKing which also boosts their coffers with each team in the league rewarded.

Uganda -Ksh2.2 million

Uganda is one of the lowest-paying leagues with Vipers, who retained their title last weekend, being rewarded Ush60 million (Ksh2.2 million). 

This is from the league’s partnership with StarTimes TV, the Chinese company also sponsored the FKFPL before they terminated their deal in November 2021 over breach of contract.

The amount has been criticised for being too little with even Vipers themselves saying it can hardly cover their monthly costs.

Somalia -Ksh1.3m

For winning the Somali Football League last season, Gaadiidka FC (Auto Parco) was rewarded with a $9,926 (Kshs1.37 million) cash prize, the same amount Horseed SC received this campaign.

The war-torn country has just 10 teams in their top flight but the 2022-23 seasonwas contested by nine, as Badbaado FC failed to honour matches due to financial problems.

Kenyan fans will be hoping that next season is different and there is hope already after Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba said this week that he is working on a ‘mega package’ that will see teams and players handsomely rewarded from the 2023-24 campaign.