It's Sh1 million for KPL's Most Valuable Player
Kenya Premier League CEO Jack Oguda (left) Sports Journalist Association of Kenya (Sjak) chairman Chris Mbaisi (centre) and Moses Marji of LG Electronics during the launch of the 2015 Footballer of the Year awards partnership on November 11, 2015 at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |
What you need to know:
- The Sh1 million cash prize is an improvement from last year’s prize of Sh200,000 with the runners up taking home Sh300,000 and the third place Sh200,000.
The 2015 SportPesa Premier League Most Valuable Player will walk away with Sh1 million during next month’s Footballer of the Year Awards (FOYA).
The announcement was made Wednesday in Nairobi at a ceremony where SportPesa, Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (Sjak), LG Electronics were unveiled as the official sponsors for the annual end-of-season KPL awards.
Under the new partnership, winners in all the categories will walk away with improved cash prizes as well as 43-inch LG-TV sets and trophies during the gala awards set for December 9 at Safari Park.
The Sh1 million cash prize is an improvement from last year’s prize of Sh200,000 with the runners up taking home Sh300,000 and the third place Sh200,000.
In the new set-up, KPL coaches will forward eight nominees for each category to a panel which will be made up of sports journalists, KPL representatives and an independent auditor, who will sieve through the names and come up a list of the eventual winners.
The sports journalists will also be allowed to forward names of their nominees before the process of selecting the winners begins.
In previous years, KPL coaches were tasked with the duty of coming up with the nominees and deciding the eventual winners.
“The data for the entire season will be sent to SJAK so as to make their work easier in coming up with the deserving winners. The journalists have covered the league since it began and I’m confident they will make the best decisions,” said KPL CEO Jack Oguda.
The awards got a short in the arm, with SportPesa and LG Electronics giving Sh3.7 million and 1.5 million respectively and the figure expected to rise to Sh8.7 million in total before the event.
Sjak chairman Chris Mbaisi challenged the panel of judges to maintain professionalism and conduct a fair process.
“We want this to be long partnership and we therefore must have a credible process where the rightful winners are awarded and I urge the panel of judges to be committed in their work,” he said.
The first batch of nominees will be released next week before the list is slashed to eight players and then to five players before the winners are unveiled during the gala next month. Sofapaka’s Anthony Ndolo won the Most Valuable Player award in 2014.
CATEGORIES
Apart from the most valuable player category, other categories include - Golden Glove, Defender of the Year, Midfielder of the Year, Golden Boot Award, Young Player of the Year, Fair Play Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Most Improved Referee of the Year, Most Improved Assistant Referee of the Year, Team Manager of the Year and the Chairman’s Award.
