BREAKING: FKF sign multi-million broadcast deal

The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has signed a seven-year broadcast deal with Tanzanian broadcaster Azam TV that will see the broadcaster air the FKF Premier League for the next seven years.

The deal is worth around KES 145 million per year and will increase by 100,000 USD every year. This brings an end to what has been a dark period for the Kenyan League. The FKF Premier League last had a broadcaster two years ago before Startimes bolted.

"We have signed a seven-year deal with Azam, and I want to thank them for agreeing to return into the Kenyan league. The deal is worth 1 million USD (KES 145,400,000), and it will increase by 100,000 USD (just over KES. 14 million) every year. I believe Kenyan football is heading in the right direction, and things will get better," FKF president Nick Mwendwa said.

Azam Chief Operations Officer Yahya Mohamed lauded the partnership, saying it is an honour to return to the Kenyan football scene after airing Kenya's second-tier league in 2015.

"To us, this is a big milestone as Azam Media. We are celebrating our 10th anniversary since we started, and we are now back in Kenya to air the league. It is a great honour to sign this deal with FKF. We will air matches in HD, and our customers can watch the games through our decoders and mobile apps. We are bringing the quality that you have been seeing in Tanzania".

Yahya challenged FKF to consider moving more games to the evening and night, saying 3 p.m. kickoffs are not ideal for fans.

"Timing of matches is important as we need to capture fans in Kenya and across East Africa. Early kickoffs are not friendly to fans, and to get the best value for the league, we have to get the timing right," he added.

On his part, Azam Kenya General Manager Martin Abuya promised that the production would be of the highest quality.

"We are going to give the best for Kenyan football. You saw the quality of production during the Mashemeji derby in May and we are going to give it to you. Our rates are affordable and the quality will be the best"

Sofapaka owner Elly Kalekwa, who spoke on behalf of Premier League clubs, thanked Azam for choosing the FKF Premier League.

"This is a new dawn for Kenyan football because, as teams, we really struggled last season for lack of a league broadcaster. I also want to thank FKF president Nick Mwendwa for making this possible".

This broadcast deal will be a big thing both for the clubs and the players. Teams will smile because, without a broadcaster, things have been really tough.

The players will also get much-needed exposure, and I believe it will motivate them to work even harder in order to earn deals locally and outside the borders. We welcome Azam on board, and I promise them that they'll love it here because this is a professional league."

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