The New Football Season is Here 2021/2022.

Yesterday FKF-Premier League (Men's) resumed, other matches are scheduled for today. On the other side Kenyan Women's Premier League (KWPL) is set to start somewhere next month. It is great that teams are geared up to the start of the league and teams who were promoted to the top tier ready to square it off with all time teams. 

 Anyway, I have many an answered questions that linger in my mind which I think all football stakeholders should raise especially those that are directly affected. Looking back in the past weeks if not months the federation parted ways with the league sponsor, the begging question, what next or who is expected to come on board to save the situation in terms of sponsorships? 

On the other side women's side for a long time there hasn't been any league sponsor and now that the league will revert into one league format as opposed to the zonal grouping, my question is how will the teams manage all the expenses associated with the away matches? 

 Remember this model was tested before and there were many hurdles that led to the adoption of the zonal grouping. I hope there was a stakeholders meeting, especially with the teams before reaching the decision and all the challenges experienced in the past have been addressed before the start of the new season 2021/22 league. 

Picture grassroot football +throughMylens

 

As I ponder about all this situation two proposals come to mind that can maybe save Kenyan football. There are many models of running the game, but in my understanding there are two major models namely; 

 1. The sponsorship model - Very short term and depend on league sponsorships and other forms of sponsorship that helps in the facilitation of the cost incurred and also in some cases help develop the game from different levels like we had SportPesa. 

 One of the threat with this model as seen in the past is the untimely termination of the contracts. This is the model Kenya football has been running for many years from clubs to the federation. 

 2. Investors Model: - This is yet to be seen in Kenya football. To achieve this model we need to have all the nuts and bolts tightened from the clubs to the federation. Make the game attractive from the marketing, strategy, fan base, etc. attached to values that can make not only a sponsor come on board but also investors. 

It is a model which has a more business minded approach, growth of the sports personalities, infrastructure and the entire ecosystem. Here the clubs are owned by those who have shares and they will invest in more long terms with a target of making gains while they help everyone else in the system. 

Decision making is well calculated to see the model more profitable today and in the future. Basically, it runs as a business and remember no one opens a business to make losses. In this model, there is stability, predictability and before any decision is reached there is wider consultation. 

In this model it isn't easy to break the teams as we have seen in the past great teams like Mumias sugar F.C, KIMBO F.C, NSSF just to mention but a few breaking unexpectedly and one of the reasons being financial burden. 

Kenyan football is an expensive affairs with no returns if you want to invest. Unless you clinch the league and target a slot in the champion league and make efforts to proceed further is when you can see those figures reflected on your account. 

The prize money offered for clinching the local league title isn't enough to cover all the costs incurred in the season making it an unattractive model for investors. On the other had if you are lucky you might gain income from the player transfer fees, but that isn't certain in our model and if it is there it can't be relied upon as a sustainable way of income generation venture in running the club.