Sh10bn Gonzalo Higuain fee: Why sport is big business

Juventus' forward Gonzalo Higuain from Argentina holds his jersey at the Juventus' headquarters in Turin on July 27, 2016. PHOTO | MARCO BERTORELLO |

What you need to know:

  • The Government and all stakeholders thus need to note this, and put all measures into place to ensure Kenya benefits directly from such investments as high profile football transfers.

Sh10 billion. Yes. This is the amount Italian champions Juventus have paid rivals Napoli for the services of Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain.

This staggering figure is only bettered by two other transfers in football history, those of Welshman Gareth Bale from Tottenham to Real Madrid three years ago worth Sh12 billion and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to the same club from Manchester United back in 2009, worth Sh11 billion.

Important to note, is that “Juve” or “The Old Lady” as the Italian champions are otherwise referred to by their forklore, can comfortably afford to fork out such a transfer fee for a single player.

After all, the club is one of the richest in the world with multiple sources of income including sale of merchandise and TV rights to a world wide audience, gate collections, and the extra comfort of having Andrea Agnelli (a shareholder and board member at renowned giant vehicle manufacturer FIAT) and one of the richest Italians, as the club owner.

INVEST IN SPORT

In contrast, most of the other clubs in Europe, Asia and Africa cannot even dare dream of having such a budget even for a period of two decades.

Put simply, Higuian’s investment highlight most the importance of investing in sports. From the days as a pass time leisure activity, sports has since transformed into a full scale business entity.

The Government and all stakeholders thus need to note this, and put all measures into place to ensure Kenya benefits directly from such investments as high profile football transfers.

What Sh10 billion can do for Kenyan sport

  • The 16 Kenyan Premier League clubs are, in total, paid Sh134 million annually in grants by the competition’s main sponsors. The Sh10 billion can bankroll these clubs for the next nine years.
  • Treasury allocated the Ministry of Sports Sh2.5 billion this financial year. Sh10 billion will be enough to run the department for the next four years.
  • The national men, women and junior teams require Sh500m for international assignments annually. Sh10 billion would bankroll these teams for two decades.
  • Sh10 billion is enough to support two of Kenya’s biggest clubs - Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards - for a decade.
  • Sh10 billion can comfortably build three state-of-the-art stadiums.
  • The Government set aside Sh600m towards Kenya’s preparations to the 2016 Rio Olympics. If all factors remained constant, Sh10 billion will fund Team Kenya to eight consecutive Olympic Games.
  • The Kenya Rugby Union requires about Sh400 million annually. Sh10 billion would sustain them for 12 years.