Nairobi — The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has unveiled a partnership with Tanzanian firm Azam TV to broadcast the top tier Premier League (FKFPL) in a seven-year deal worth an initial one million dollars (Approx Sh145.5mn).
According to both the Federation and Azam, the contract will be on an initial five-year deal, renewable by a further two. But, the Federation will get 850,000 dollars due to Tanzania's 15pc withholding tax rules.
At the same time, the value of the total sponsorship will increase by a further 100,000 dollars (Approx Sh14.6mn) annually.
"This is the biggest step in Kenyan football. We are delighted to finally unveil this. It has been a tough and lengthy negotiation and today, we are here unveiling everything," said FKF boss Nick Mwendwa.
He added; "We want to take this contract to the very end, and hopefully things improve, such that we can go back to Azam and tell them to pump in more money, but only if we show value for the product."
Mwendwa has however not disclosed how much each club is set to earn from the deal, and says they will do so once they firm up 'one or two more deals' in the coming weeks.
"We are speaking to some other partners and as I explained to the club bosses earlier this week, we have talks ongoing with two more potential partners and once we have this agreed, we will be back here to announce what each club will get," Mwendwa said Thursday, as he unveiled the deal at a Nairobi hotel.
According to Azam TV's Chief Operations Officer (COO) Yahya Mohammed, they will broadcast four games per weekend, starting after the international break for the first year.
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"We have come with only two OB vans so as a start, we will select four games every weekend. Our ambition is to see to it that we broadcast all games in the league as we do in Tanzania, by the start of the second year," said Yahya.
Azam worked on a trial broadcast with FKF last season, showing two matches Live. They broadcasted the Mashemeji Derby pitting Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards as well as the Tusker FC and Kariobangi Sharks game.
From the trial matches, the Federation shared Sh300,000 for each of the clubs.
"We are delighted to be in Kenya and explore the Kenyan market. We know there is a lot of potential with Kenyan football and we can't wait to experience this," said Yahya.
Azam will have a dedicated channel for the Premier League, Azam Four, where they will broadcast Kenyan football content only.
