The 2025/26 Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) kicked off yesterday with former champions Tusker tacking KCB at Nyayo Stadium.
The league took longer than usual to start mainly because Kenya was hosting the Africa Nations Championships (Chan). The wait was however worth with FKF President Hussein Mohamed and Sportpesa CEO Ronald Karauri announcing the league will now be called the Sportpesa Premier League.
The winners of the league title will walk home with Sh15 million from a prize pool of Sh20 million. The runners-up will get Sh3 million and the third-placed will pocket Sh2 million.
Kenya Police who won the league last season only won Sh1 million in a season that had no league sponsor and the winners before that were getting peanuts. It is therefore good news that the teams will get substantial at the end of the season. Most of the time, the teams spend more money throughout the season. Therefore, what they will get by winning is something to look forward to.
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According to Hussein, the plan is for the league winners to win Sh50 million. While we encourage Hussein and his team for the good start, we hope it will now go up and we should not go back to the era where a league kicks off without a title sponsor.
We encourage other companies to emulate what Sportpesa has done and help make the league a success.
The corporates should also consider sponsoring clubs and help in paying the players salaries and allowances since many teams without sponsors, have been struggling financially.
And as we encourage more sponsorship for the league, we urge fans to continue with the same spirit at Chan and go the stadiums to support their teams.
We need to keep the Chan fire burning. Having more fans in the stadium means more sponsorship since these corporates want visibility in return.
And while fans strive to keep up the same spirit they had with the national team at Chan as they support their clubs, they should behave well and avoid hooliganism.
Having a peaceful atmosphere in the stadium will encourage more fans wanting to associate themselves with their favourite local clubs like they have always done with Harambee Stars and the English Premier League teams.
Avoiding crowd trouble also means stadium facilities will not be destroyed. During Chan, Nyayo and Kasarani stadiums were in good shape and they need to remain that way.
The Sportpesa sponsorship should offer Kenyan football a new impetus and encourage more companies and individuals to put their money in the game.
Finally, as the clubs look forward to winning the Sh15 million top prize, they should ensure their fans do not spoil the beautiful game.
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By Editorial