Sports CS Ababu Namwamba has confirmed that he has reached an agreement with South African sports broadcaster, SuperSport over a return to Kenyan football and that they will roll out at the end of the 2022/23 FKF Premier League season. The current campaign concludes in June 2023.The return of the SuperSport marks the end of their five-year exile. The broadcaster left Kenyan football in 2017 after wrangles that resulted in the Kenyan Premier League being expanded from 16 to 18 teams. they claimed that the move was a breach of contract and left immediately leaving Kenyan football in darkness.##NAJAVA_MECA_6905738##Namwamba has now confirmed that a deal is in place. The presence of Multichoice CEO Fhulu Badugela during the Jamhuri Day celebrations at the Nyayo National Stadium pointed at high-level intervention to have the broadcaster back into Kenyan football“I have struck a deal with Multichoice that will see SuperSport coming back to start televising football because that is one way of marketing our talents,” he told NTV. “I expect at the conclusion of this season we should be ready to roll the live broadcast,” he added.Namwamba was speaking in Rarieda after attending a friendly match between Gor Mahia and non-league outfit, Rarienda combined. The match was organized ICT Cabinet Secretary, Eliud Owalo.“When we bring Gor Mhaia down here we are basically showcasing to the local communities the talent that is resident in a team of Gor Mahia’s caliber at the national level but in the same vein, we use these kind of friendly matches to identify raw talent at the grassroots that can be nurture to exploit their full potential,” Owalo said.In 2020 FKF struck a deal with Chinese broadcaster Startimes but the relationship did not last for long as the company terminated the deal when FKF NEC was disbanded by former Sports CS Amina Mohammed.CS Ababu Namwamba on SuperSport’s return to Kenyan football and the U19 tournament announced by the president earlier today.#KEFootball pic.twitter.com/TQDrnixeUE— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) December 12, 2022 There have been signs that giant broadcasters were on their way back to Kenyan football. Last week, Live Eye the production company that produces the Ethiopian Premier League for SuperSport shot and aired the Gor Mahia vs Bandari game at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani through their Youtube channel in what was described as a dry run.The broadcaster has also been providing, LED Pitch Side Advertising Hoardings for select matches, the first time it has been used in Kenya.The return of the broadcaster will be a big boost for Kenyan football that’s currently grappling with financial challenges and the match-fixing menace.
