Curtains on the 2012 annual Safaricom SOYA awards, which is due to be held later tonight in a glamorous dinner gala in Nairobi has received a major boost from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) with a Sh1million package.

This shot in the arm comes at a time whenm the organisers are making last minute appeal to sponsors to join them make this year's gala most befitting for the country's sporting icons.

The presentation was confirmed by NSSF Managing Trustee Tom Odongo. He said NSSF's sponsorship is part of their commitment to nurture local sporting talent by appreciating and recognising sportsmen who excel in respective fields.

"As Part of NSSF recent rebranding and ongoing transformation programmes, NSSF is proud to be associated with SOYA," said the Manging Trustee.

Safaricom Ltd, National Bank of Kenya, Huawei Technologies, the Communications Commission of Kenya, Super sport and Multi choice Kenya and Ministry of sports are the other key sponsors.

The panel of judges chairperson, Evelyn Watta, said they are ready to unveil the top sportsmen and women who did the country proud this year.

These sentiments were also echoed by the awards' secretary, Simon Chebon, who said the is confident the Soya gala will mark another milestone of sporting excellence in Kenya, in line with its tradition and theme of the year, which is Champions Together.