Charles Nyende
10 November 2009
Nairobi — Telkom Kenya, through their Orange brand, have forked out Sh13 million to secure the title sponsorship of the 33rd Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.
The telecommunication company announced on Tuesday that they will also spend a further amount in promoting and broadcasting the regional soccer fete.
The tournament, which will now be referred to as the Orange Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, will be held in Kenya from November 28 to December 13 and will involve all the 11 Cecafa member nations in addition to two guest teams, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Speaking during the sponsorship announcement, Telkom Kenya chief officer Mickael Ghossein said they will continue to invest in sports to help improve the national standards.
The Orange sponsorship comes at a time when Cecafa was in desperate need of a benefactor following the loss of their multi-million dollar sponsorship from pay satellite television station GTV after they terminated operations early this year.
Cheque presentation
The dummy cheque presentation ceremony was attended by former Kenya internationals including Mohamoud Abbas, Josephat Murila and Austin Oduor.
Cecafa secretary general Nicholas Musonye said they had covered 70% of their budget and promised a great tournament. Orange have come out strongly in support of sports in the country and internationally. The company sponsored the Kenya's sevens and 15s team last season.
On July 28 Orange announced an eight-year, multi-billion shilling partnership with Confederation of African Football to be the official sponsors of all the major CAF competitions including the African Cup of Nations, the African Nations Cup and the African Champions League.
The deal took effect immediately with the France-based Orange taking over from the rival MTN but no details were given of the deal.
Orange are also a sponsor of the national football teams of Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, Guinea and Botswana. Ghosssein said Orange was currently in talks with football bodies, clubs and the government on how to improve the game in future.
The Orange Challenge Cup will be held in Nairobi and Mumias and will be shown live by Kenya Broadcasting Corporation in partnership with pay per view SuperSport of South Africa.
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