FKF Terminates Partnership With Odi Bets

Nick Mwendwa
FKF President, Nick Mwendwa
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The Football Kenya Federation has surprisingly decided to terminate its partnership with betting firm, Odi bets. The move has come with immediate effect due to breach of contract by the betting firm. Even more surprising is that the federation said the betting firm breached the terms of the contract but did not specifically state which part of the contract their partners violated. 

"The Football Kenya Federation has terminated its partnership with Odibets with immediate effect due to breach of contract by the betting firm," read the communication from the local FA. "The federation remains committed to developing win-win partnerships for the good of the game and will continue to engage wholeheartedly with partners who share our commitment and vision for the growth of the game in Kenya."

Back in 2019, the betting firm had entered into a Ksh 127 million partnership with the federation in order to sponsor the lower leagues. Recently, a five-year deal between FKF and BetKing was terminated as the Nigerian firm exited as sponsors of the Premier League and the Division One league after just a year in the Kenyan market. The end of the FKF-Odi Bets partnership is set to affect the lower league teams negatively as they depended on the grants to run their clubs' day-to-day activities. The three-year deal was set to see all FKF County Leagues renamed Odibets County Leagues.

Although the BetKing deal - with a starting payment of KSh220 million in year one and then increasing by five percent in the second year and 10 percent in the subsequent years - was the biggest sponsorship the Premier League had secured through FKF, it never lived long enough to benefit the clubs throughout the agreed period. The 2021/22 Premier League season is set to begin on September 26 and the local Federation is yet to announce a new sponsor.

When BetKing left, FKF president Nick Mwendwa assured the football fraternity that there was no cause to worry as they were engaging numerous firms which had shown interest to fill the sponsorship gap.