Sportpesa reinstates sponsorship
There is good news for Gor Mahia fans in that Sportpesa has agreed to resume their sponsorship of Gor Mahia as well as AFC Leopards which they had suspended following acts of hooliganism by fans of both teams.
Sportpesa CEO Ronald Karauri outlined a series of steps that will be taken to tame hooliganism.
“We have been holding consultation meetings with both clubs since we suspended the deals and I am impressed that they are committed to end hooliganism. We have agreed that mobile courts are introduced in the stadia to help tame the vice that is not good for Kenyan football.”. he said to goal.com
He announced that the Police and NYS will be deployed with new tactics,
“We also have commitment from the police, who have promised to provide tight security going forward. We will also have stewards from National Youth Service on behalf of SportPesa manning perimeter fence. “A security committee has been set, chaired by the Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary… and membership drawn from clubs, Football Kenya Federation, Kenyan Premier League and the league sponsors Sportpesa.” karauri continued
Chairman Ambrose Rachier thanked Sportpesa and urged fans to maintain peace.
“We are grateful to SportPesa and want to assure them that we will fight day and night to end this vice. I want to urge our fans to maintain peace during matches.”
Rachier noted that he has been working to put anti-hooliganism structures in place for years.,
“The conditions set are deliverable and we are committed. It is something we have talked about for years and it’s is good that it has been put to paper. The agreement that stewardship will be professionalized is a great initiative since currently stewards are usually club supporters who come to watch the match. Professionalizing this will ensure they are not club supporters and do not come to watch matches.” he said to the Star newspaper.
Poor refereeing has been a significant cause of stadium fracas. The issue was addressed by GMT Ottieno, a veteran referee from the 1980s and now head of referees.
“Some, whose decisions have been found wanting have been suspended but in future some will be terminated. We actually have officials who came straight into the top league without passing through the lower leagues which is unfortunate. We have called for all these officials to hand in detailed curriculum vitas.” said GMT to the star newspaper.
As a side note, this blog suggested several months ago that part of the sponsorship money should be used to bolster security whether Gor Mahia is the home team or not. This really was a no brainer.
Mobile courts? I have seen anywhere about the judiciary being engaged so who will preside over these courts, hatutaki “kangaroo courts” Okil Rachier. Other measures regarding the police & NYS manning the gate seem ok. Btw the most qualified proffesial steward you can get is a security guard.
Corrections: I mean’t ” I have not seen anywhere” and professional. That aside regarding Luke Ochieng could this highly regarded player be having a nagging or recurrent injury. Same goes for Kiongera whose name some are floating yet he’s playtime/goals hard to come by at Tz’s Simba mainly due to a recurrent injury!
We are just beggars. Beggars are not chooser. Yes
What a contract.
This contract can be suspended and lifted at will and is affected with events like NOT having security (should Gor have a police force?) NOT having NYS manning the perimeter fence? Not having a judge and or Mobile Court. We should get our lawyers go to stadium with us- Kwani it written with pencil? AR
Juventus and the Italian Serie A League was brought down by a licensed sports betting firm sponsoring the league and big teams therein.We cannot overlook the fact that serious conflict of interest exists in the Spl currently due to Sportpesa having financial obligations that need them to recoup their investment through betting.Currently the Overrule even the Federation & Kpl in making decisions regarding top flight football in Kenya while by law they don’t have that primary mandate.This stick & carrot sponsorship deal with dictatorship tendencies will be fall of top flight football in Kenya.Let’s all fight hooliganism brothers but also pray for a less controversial league sponsor like Tusker to come back sooner than later since this betting firms I just don’t believe possess the goodness of the beautiful game at heart…
Why sportpesa can be dictatorial is that they want FIX matches for gamblers to loose money. Wild though but why not.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nbc-yahoo-sports/match-delayed-as-man-united-bus-attacked-191052888-soccer.html
Manchester United was late (again) to a road match, but that doesn’t make what happened en route to the final match at the Boleyn Ground any better.
Their manager Louis Van Gaal reacted to the team bus having windows broken by fan-thrown bottles before Tuesday’s match at West Ham, the final home match at Upton Park before the Irons move to the Olympic Stadium next season.
[ WATCH LIVE: West Ham – Man Utd at 3:30 p.m. ET ]
“The images shall tell everything,” Louis van Gaal said. “It’s the second time in London where we have to start later.”
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney confirmed the coach had come under attack as it struggled to get into the stadium.
“The coach got smashed up but we’ll just have to go and prepare and get on with our job,” he told Sky Sports. “I’m sure West Ham will be disappointed with their fans.
The bus was met by throngs of fans outside the Boleyn Ground, throwing bottles and other objects causing what appeared minor damage, yet preventing it from making its way to the stadium.
Police boarded the bus after it became trapped on the road outside the venue. It was showered by beer and bottles and had a window broken. A smoke canister was also let off.
Many supporters appeared to have turned up without tickets for West Ham’s last home game at Upton Park before they move to the Olympic Stadium.
Lets see what BET WAY will do
Shida ya Kenya is that many see football on TV.so our Gor Mahia becomes unique and a point for ridicule and abuse.I came to know that in Germany fracas does errupt and fans have to use separate gates; Germany.We don’t see that on TV so we are forced to take useless conditions.Someone says Karim may leave for trials;any info?
I don’t see how Sportspesa ‘forces’ people to bet for/against Gor. I fact most of those who bet do so for the foreign games. If you check now most of the sponsoring firms in UK or any other place they are betting companies. So tuwachane na theories mingi ambazo hatuwezi prove.
Some people likewise complain that alcohol breaks homes while we are happy for them as sponsors, and Muslims have an issue with alcohol-sponsored teams or leagues
The conflict of interest is so obvious “only a blind person would not see it “.
The fact that Sportspesa is
1. Sponsoring the premier league in Kenya,
2. Is again sponsoring the club’s with the biggest following i.e Gor Mahia and AFC
There conflict of interest “whether real or perceived” arises not from the fans betting but rather from the players, referees and FKF, KPL officials betting.
It does not take rocket science to understand that Sportspesa reaps huge benefit when GM/AFC loses a home match when the odds were heavily in favour of the home team.
How do you (or will you) explain a referee giving the away a contentious penalty or player missing a crucial penalty that decides a match. Sportpesa has obviously monopolized football in Kenya so that any attempt to question such decisions will simply countered by “suspension of sponsorship”.
This is could just be another case of these companies opting for the unregulated markets of 3rd world countries since regulations in the developed countries are that much more stringent. Like the cigarette and alcohol companies before the 3rd world countries also tightened their regulations.
See the link below:
https://www.thepfa.com/players/betting
You talk of the UK, yet it is there that PFA has realized the dangers of betting players, referees, officials and have for all intents and purposes banned from betting
so as to maintain the integrity of the beautiful game. For your info the odds for betting are similar for both local and foreign leagues. For Gor Mahia vs Sofapaka as it is for Barcelona vs Getafe.
Swali ni what have we done here? Are refereees betting? Are players betting? Are club officials betting? If you don’t know and there are no regulations against it then bet you me THEY ARE ALL BETTING AND ARE FIXING OR WILL FIX A GAME OR TWO WITHOUT AS MUCH AS BATTERING AN EYELID.
SOLUTION: REMOVE LOCAL MATCHES FROM SPORTPESA BETS
@ ODUOR12 beautiful and insightful piece you got there.Some of the Bloggers here are fervent diehards Sportpesa symathizers for reasons ranging from being possible employees to being accomplices of Karauri but we will say it over & over that the Sports betting industry in Kenya remains unregulated as acknowledged by the federation president himself and therefore very prone to manipulations that lead to Match Fixing by players & officials.We however shall be here to point out such weneva they arise suspension of sponsorship threats notwithstanding