Kenyan football fans have been urged to turn up in large numbers as Harambee Stars prepares to take on double champions DR Congo in their opening fixture of the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi on Sunday.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) yesterday indicated that they have given the national team the best preparations possible and expect them to outmaneuver the Congolese, who are out to lift the coveted trophy for the third time.
DR Congo arrived in the country in the wee hours of Thursday, ready for the crunch tie against Stars.
“Kindly show up, show up in national team colours, show up with your families and friends,” FKF president Hussein Mohammed told Kenyans ahead of the contest.
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“We are proud of Harambee Stars, we have given the team the best preparations we can, we are hopeful they will deliver in this tournament.”
Mohammed noted that the federation has unveiled Harambee Stars replica jerseys that retail at Sh1500 that fans can grab on their way to the stadium.
SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri pledged 5,000 free jerseys to local fans who will be gracing the Harambee Stars matches during the month-long tournament involving local-based players.
Both SportPesa and FKF on Thursday unveiled a vision in Nairobi seeking to propel Harambee Stars to the 2030 Fifa World Cup. Part of the dream was the unveiling of a Sh1.12 billion sponsorship of the FKF Premier League by the gaming firm for a period of ten years.
“Sh85 million will go towards the 2025/26 FKF PL season that kicks off in September,” Karauri stated.
The company returns to FKF PL after it abruptly pulled the plug on all its sports sponsorships in the country in 2019.
“60% of the sponsorship will go directly to the clubs in the FKF Premier League as grants, with the remaining 40% allocated to administrative and operational costs to ensure the efficient running of the competition,” Karauri indicated.
“Before then, our goal was to take Kenya to the World Cup, and now we are glad to have restarted the journey with this partnership.”
While hailing the gaming firm for the kind gesture, Mohammed said the groundbreaking deal means well for Kenyan football.
“It gives confidence that football is back in the country. I also urge corporates to come on board to help us build a football ecosystem in Kenya.
“When youngsters are engaged in the game, there will be less crime and more job opportunities to keep them busy,” Mohammed said.
He continued: “I urge the government to look for concessions to companies investing in sports in the country. We also need to review the Sports Act to have an enabling environment that can help to grow and develop sports in this nation.
“We hope that our lower-tier league, the National Super League, will also have partners soon, including the Women’s Premier League.
“We are also confident that with this good gesture from SportPesa, Harambee Stars will deliver the 2030 vision of playing in the World Cup.”