Loss of sponsor for Nyayo stadium too costly

Coca-Cola has withdrawn its Sh120 million, three-year deal to refurbish the Nyayo National Stadium.

The about-turn is due to the insistence by Sports minister Hellen Sambili and others in government that renaming the venue Coca-Cola National Stadium and dropping the name “Nyayo” would amount to discarding a national heritage.

The minister’s decision is ludicrous, to say the least, especially considering that Coca-Cola won a competitive bid tendered by the Sports Stadia Management Board, a parastatal in the ministry charged with marketing sports facilities.

The acquisition of naming rights is not unique to Kenya; it is a global trend in sports marketing. Coca-Cola has already given the government Sh16 million as part of the deal, with a further Sh6 million going into refurbishing the erstwhile run-down venue.

The ramifications of the pull-out, therefore, are more than meets the eye. The stadium will revert to its earlier name and, undoubtedly, degenerate to its former dilapidated state, given the meagre maintenance budget allocated by the government.

This also means that the government will have to refund over Sh20 million to the company, and a lot more money for breach of contract.

Most importantly, it will mean that the country’s athletes will miss an opportunity to compete and train in the world-class facility that Coca-Cola envisaged.

With football’s World Cup coming up next year in South Africa, a refurbished Coca-Cola National Stadium would have positioned itself adequately to enjoy the spill-overs.

The minister must offer assurance that the government can match, if not improve on, Coca-Cola’s investment, failing which it must allow the corporate to enjoy the naming rights to the letter.
Hanging onto a name that offers nothing to development under the guise of protecting national heritage is patently ridiculous.