Safaricom Announces a Ksh9 Million Sponsorship for Kenya Open Golf Championship

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 11, 2010 – Listed telecoms operator Safaricom has announced a Ksh9 million Gold sponsorship towards this year's Kenya Open Golf Championship to be held next month at the Muthaiga Golf Club.

The four-day event kicks off on March 26th and is expected to attract top international players from the European Tour circuit and from within Africa including local professional golfers as well as six amateurs.

This is the third consecutive year that Safaricom is sponsoring the tournament. Out of the total kitty from Safaricom, Sh5 million will go towards the Media Centre, while Ksh1 million shall be used to buy caddie bibs. Some Ksh3 million will be used to set up and kit a modern Media Centre.

Speaking during the cheque handover held at Safaricom House, Safaricom Chief Information Technology Officer Robert Mugo said the ultra-modern media centre would be equipped with computers and high speed internet connectivity supported by the firm's superior 3G network.

"We are proud to be Gold sponsors for this year's Kenya Open Golf Championship. Sport forms a major point of contact and engagement with our market and a key pillar in our corporate giving function," said Mr. Mugo.

The Media Centre will also be equipped with additional facilities such as fax machines, phone lines, and photocopiers to allow for efficient, real-time communication by journalists covering the event, their sources and newsrooms. This will enable them file their stories and pictures from the venue.

This year's tournament will be the 42nd Championship on the African leg of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) European Challenge Tour.

The Kenya Open Golf Limited Chairman Mr. Peter Kanyago said the sponsorship was a major boost to the Ksh35 million prize pot for the event.

"I am proud that we are now in the 42nd year of Kenya Open. We have continued for many years to successfully host one of the oldest legs on the European Challenge Tour calendar. The stature of Kenya Open has grown due to the tremendous support received from our corporate sponsors such as Safaricom. We are therefore delighted that once again they have come in to sponsor this biggest international sporting event," said Kanyago.

The Kenya Open continues to attract players of repute. This year, organizers expect more than 160 players, drawn from the European Tour and from within Africa - including local professional golfers as well as 6 amateurs who will have the invaluable experience of playing against, and interacting with PGA-tour professionals on their home turf.

Previous winners of the Kenya Open include golf greats Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Eamonn Darcy, José Maria Canizares and Trevor Immelman.

The Kenya Open has in addition to Safaricom attracted sponsorship from Barclay Bank, Nation Media Group, Toyota Kenya East African Breweries, among others.

This year's Kenya Open will have exciting attractions among them a Corporate Village, giving partners the opportunity to showcase their products and services. There will also a Public Village, where other golf clubs can entertain and host their members.

Safaricom Launches National Youth Soccer Tournament

It is a feast of football as firm splashes Sh55 million on its biggest ever brand asset as it wows a growing youth core

February 18th 2010…Safaricom, the listed telecoms company, has kicked off a Sh55 million national soccer tournament as it seeks to deepen its connection with its growing youth segment.

Dubbed Sakata Ball, and launched with the tagline The Safaricom Soccer Challenge, Live the Dream, the tournament aims to provide a platform for tapping and nurturing new soccer talent from the grassroots level.

It is being rolled out through a partnership between Safaricom and Ligi Ndogo, an organization that has made a name for running a successful children's soccer league franchise.

Safaricom is expected to spend about Sh55 million as the total sponsorship package for the tournament. Some Sh38 million is expected to go into organizing the grassroots, regional and national tournaments, while a further Sh17 million has been set aside to publicize the events.

The sponsorship, which presents the biggest ever allocation in this category by the listed telecoms operator, is expected to be a major game changer in the local soccer scene where youth tournaments have remained largely limited.

Speaking during the launch of Sakata Ball, Safaricom Chief Human Resource Officer Joseph Ogutu said the tournament, which is targeted at male players between 17-23, aims at not only providing a platform to discover and develop soccer talent in Kenya but also improve the standards of the game in the country.

"Soccer presents a major touch-point in Safaricom's continued engagement with the youth, which is a key component of our overall customer mix. With Sakata Ball, Safaricom seeks to provide an ideal and sustainable platform through which latent talent can be unearthed and presented to a national audience with an eye on the life-changing opportunities this can provide. With Sakata Ball, they can dare to dream," he said.

Mr Ogutu added: "Through this national Safaricom Soccer Challenge, we seek to inspire Kenyan youth by cultivating their passion for soccer in an African World Cup year. Soccer has a huge following in Kenya among the youth, no matter their geographical region. We want to rejuvenate the sport and reinstate it to the golden years when Kenya had the best soccer players in the region and its teams packed stands in local stadia and even bagged continental titles."

The tournament is expected to feature a total cash prize kitty of Sh1.5 million, with some Sh0.5 million going to the winning team. There will also be cash prizes for the tournament's top scorer, best goalkeeper and most disciplined team. Participants will also be fighting for other prizes including football kits, balls and tracksuits.

To participate in the tournament, individuals are required to register teams of between 11 – 13 players by filling in the Sakata Ball entry form which can be downloaded from www.safaricom.co.ke or collected from designated points.

A unique feature of the tournament shall be sessions during which resource persons will offer participating players life skills training to mould them into well-rounded individuals. A number of the country's past football greats shall also be present at the tournaments as a way of feting their achievements, while imparting inspiration to the next generation.