By Bonface Osano,
Mumias sugar company has moved to terminate their sponsorship deal with former Kenya Premier League giants AFC Leopards.
The multi million contract that was signed back in the year 2010 saw Ingwe boast of being Kenya’s money bags; their players were one some of the highest paid locally earning up to USD 2000 per month minus allowances.
Football is an expensive game to run and the input of corporate world in sponsoring football clubs goes along away in supplementing clubs’ other sources of income such as sale of club merchandise and gate collection.
In country where football image in terms of management is not that good, attracting sponsorships has been a tale of trying to extract blood from a guava, hence the thought of losing one can be mind boggling.
To sustain Ingwe operations during this turbulent period, fans will be called upon to dig deep into their pockets to sustain cash flow in the den, something they are not known for.
Ingwe nation must step up and take queue after their bitter rivals and current Kenya Premier League champions Gor Mahia FC who also found themselves in a simar situation when their title sponsor Tuzo withdrew their sponsorship early 2014.
They must ask themselves how K’Ogalo is managing to run without a sponsor, how they went on to retain their league title last year amidst the financial constraints.
Ingwe fans must now move out of the online talk and go to the stadiums and support their team, put their money where their mouths are.
So far their efforts have been pathetic to say the least, take for example their midweek game against Nakuru All Stars on 25/3/2015 at Nyayo, even after an online campaign dubbed ‘Jenga Ingwe Jaza Stady’ that saw management reduce gate charges to shillings 300 for VIP section and 100 RUSSIASS, fans could not show up still, a paltry shillings 150,000 was realized as gate collection.
AFC Leopards legend Mahmoud Abass once branded Ingwe fans ‘classroom fans’, will they prove him wrong at this hour of need?
Find me on twitter @bonfaceosano
