English Premier League football club Arsenal has snapped up SportPesa as its sports betting partner in Kenya.
In a statement, SportPesa announced that it is now the football club’s official betting partner in Kenya, one of the various African countries in which it is operational. The partnership is effective immediately and will run for three and a half years, through to the end of the 2018-2019 campaign.
The partnership “will focus on grassroots football, including both player and coach development, and will enhance SportPesa’s sponsorship of the Kenyan Premier League and Super 8 League,” the sports betting firm said.
Under the agreement, Arsenal scouts will travel to Kenya to oversee football training camps. SportPesa will offer five-day training camps twice each season for the next three years, and the training will be led by Arsenal-trained coaching staff.
“These sessions will be designed to ensure that both footballers and coaches in Kenya learn to incorporate the key principals of ‘playing the Arsenal way.’ These camps will also help to support the initiatives that SportPesa have in place to identify and nurture talent as a grassroots level,” SportPesa said.
Arsenal fans, on the other hand, will be offered “a range of club-related benefits, including official merchandise and match tickets,” particularly for games at the Emirates Stadium.
“Arsenal has huge support across Africa and we look forward to engaging further with our fans in Kenya while also helping to drive the SportPesa business and, through a wide range of initiatives, the development of football in the country,” Arsenal chief commercial officer Vinai Venkatesham said in a statement.
“With such a deal, Arsenal fans will be beneficiaries because we will have free tickets to reward them each season. However, this is not for Arsenal’s fans only because, at the end of the day, it’s about developing football in Kenya and the road to 2022,” SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri said. “We will be looking to partner with other EPL clubs to sign deals.”
