Why SportPesa will continue sponsoring Everton
By Njange Maina, October 3, 2019
Betting company SportPesa says that closing down the Kenya office won’t end their deal with English club Everton FC.
In a message sent to Echo, Everton FC’s media outlet. SportPesa insisted that their deal with the English Premier League (EPL) club will not be ended immaturely.
“SportPesa’s global operations, sponsorship and partnership programmes, including in the UK, are not impacted by our decision to exit the Kenyan market. It therefore remains business as usual for SportPesa in Liverpool” Said SportPesa in a statement.
While SportPesa fired all its 400 employees in it’s Kenya office, Echo reported that the firm’s UK headquarters is still operating.
The UK headquarters has about 80 full time staff, according to Echo.
Unfavourable tax regulations imposed by the government edged SportPesa out of Kenya. The ‘sad’ decision to close the Kenya operations came after a three months dispute with the government.
The government wanted 20% exercise tax on all stakes by betting football betting companies, a cut that SportPesa found too high to sustain.
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Njange Maina
Njange Maina is a journalist by profession with a degree in Journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya. He is currently pursuing a micro-masters degree in Digital Branding and Marketing. He is interested in digital media, human interest stories, and business journalism.
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