As SportPesa continued to increase its sponsorship of Kenyan athletes and teams, we set our sights on bringing the international football community to Kenya to help improve the standard of football in the country. This materialised through landmark deals with two English Premier League clubs: Arsenal FC and Southampton FC.

In 2016, SportPesa signed a three-year agreement with Southampton to become the club’s Official Betting Partner. The partnership was designed to go beyond branding, focusing on football development in Kenya.

Southampton committed to sending its Football Development and Support staff to Kenya to train local coaches and players, while also hosting young Kenyan players at the club’s Staplewood Campus to experience elite-level training.

Additionally, the club offered mentorship in areas such as stadium operations, marketing, and media management, helping Kenyan football administrators learn from best practices.

Breakthrough football sponsorship

Building on this momentum, SportPesa partnered with Arsenal FC in 2018, becoming the club’s Official Betting Partner in Kenya. The deal aimed to raise the standard of football in Kenya by introducing structured training programmes and knowledge-sharing initiatives. The partnership also included opportunities for Kenyan football administrators to learn about stadium management and security from Arsenal’s experts.

These partnerships saw some of the world’s biggest clubs come to Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, bringing our customers closer to the teams and players they love.

Opening African football to the world

These partnerships were launched to improve the level of football in Kenya by supporting the national team and strengthening the pipeline of upcoming talent.

The aim of the partnership was to help the Kenyan national team qualify for international tournaments. This is the SportPesa Effect in action: turning international collaborations into tangible benefits for communities across the continent.