Gor Mahia and Sofapaka sign broadcasting deal
Gor Mahia and Sofapaka have inked a deal with Supersport for live coverage of the continental matches to be played this weekend. According to Capital FM, the deal is woth Ksg 2.5 million for each team. The deal will be renewed in case each side progresses.
Speaking Thursday, SuperSport Head of East Africa; Auka Gacheo said the broadcast company is committed to Kenyan football despite ongoing wrangles between KPL and Football Kenya Federation (FKF) that threatens to give rise to parallel top flight competitions.
“Both clubs (Gor and Sofapaka) face financial challenges participating in the CAF matches. We have negotiated with both and I believe this deal will boost their financial kitty,” Auka announced.
Sofapaka president Elly Kalekwa said, “Clubs have a huge problem of finances. The deal has come at the right time and I appreciate a lot. The last time we were in the competition we spent Sh31.5m (USD344,000) so it’s a very expensive affair.”
SuperSport are negotiating with the visiting CNaPS and FC Platinum to nail a deal that will see them broadcast return-leg fixtures.
According to club chairman Ambrose Rachier, each round of continental events costs the club Ksh 7 million. The bulk money goes towards hotel expenses and catering for visiting teams, airline tickets, payments to match officials. The prohibitive expenses have forced many clubs to withdraw. The Ksh 2.5 million received from Supersport will go some way towards defraying the expenses. That is assuming that FKF does not demand a share which is a distinct possibility.
Some Gor Mahia officials claim that if the club reaches the league stages of the competition, then the financial rewards for reaching the league stages will enable them to break even. This may not be true.
One man who knows the exact cost of victory in African club football is Moise Katumbi, the governor of DR Congo’s resource-rich Katanga province.
Katumbi bankrolls the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup runner-up and 2010 CAF Champions League winner TP Mazembe.
“By the time that I add the cost of participating in the Champions League to my club budget ($6-$7 million), we spend about $15 million annually,” he said
And this is a $15 million in which the income accruing to Mazembe is barely over a tenth of his spend.
“At the moment, the club is making no profit… But we are looking at building a brand, which in the next five years, should be self-sustaining,” Katumbi said to Africa football magazine
CAF Champions League Prize Money Distribution:
- First Place: $1 500 000 (KES 137, 354, 250)
- Runners Up: $1 000 000 (KES 91,569,500)
- Semi-finalists: $700 000 each (KES 64,098,650)
- Third in the Group: $500 000 each (KES 45,784,750)
- Fourth in the Group: $400 000 each (KES ) 36,627,800
Based on the numbers revealed by Elly Kalekwa above, a team that reaches the league stage may still not break even.
This is a good move I will what the match from my place in the Indian Ocean kindly bloggers you are stakeholders in Kenyan football kindly guard against nyamweya s greed with your blood it should never happen where is the government hand kpl being a company oats taxes , what does nyamweya and blatter add to our national grid ??? Zero
Admin, TP Mazembe might not be breaking even due to their costs. The players are some of the most highly paid in the continent as well as the team having invested so much in infrastructure.
With our salaries reaching the group stages we might even make a profit at the end of the year