Bidco warm up to Kenya Sevens squad
What you need to know:
- As things are, Kenya’s sevens rugby team will continue relying on government support to honour their forthcoming engagements.
- These include the Hong Kong leg of the IRB World Sevens Series, Commonwealth Games and Rugby Sevens World Cup.
- The team was thrown into a spin when erstwhile shirt sponsors SportPesa abruptly pulled the plug on a Sh500 million deal with the Kenya Rugby Union which benefited the team most at the start of this year.
Bidco Africa have signalled their interest in taking over as the main sponsors of the national sevens rugby team.
Also coming days after sevens outfit, Shujaa, posted impressive results at the IRB World Sevens Series in Las Vegas and Vancouver, Isuzu East Africa communications manager Duncan Muhindi, meanwhile, confirmed to Nation Sport there is a “possibility” that the leading motor vehicle assembler in the region is also considering extending its partnership with the Kenya Rugby Union.
The Isuzu brand, that is also the main sponsors of the Wales rugby teams, is currently the Kenya Rugby Union’s official transport partner. The main shirt sponsorship was vacated by SportPesa at the start of the season.
Muhindi spoke yesterday at the Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi when his company hosted the sevens team for lunch to celebrate the recent successes, including wins over England and the USA at the Vancouver leg of the circuit in which they lost to Fiji in the final last weekend.
“We understand the challenges this team is going through and have recently held talks with the Kenya Rugby Union on how to extend our existing partnership,” Muhindi said.
KRU chairman Richard Omwela confirmed at the same event that Bidco are keen on taking over as Shujaa’s official sponsors.
Bidco’s current sponsorship deal with the union which is valued at between Sh15 and 20 million a year, entails the brand’s logo appearing on the back of the national team’s jerseys.
“Bidco approached us to take over the front part of the team jerseys but it seems they cannot afford the Sh60 million (annual) amount required,” Omwela stated.
Even though no money changes hands, Isuzu has undertaken to make available and service three buses and two double-cabin pick-ups for use by the national teams for the entirety of this three-year deal.
