Safaricom’s return to Kenyan rugby after a decade away has led to a much needed boost of confidence for the sport’s future amongst the players and fans alike.
Vincent Onyala, a senior player in the national men’s sevens rugby team, Shujaa, is reaping firsthand the peace of mind that comes from the support the sponsorship is offering players on and off the pitch.
“I have money in my pocket, and at least now I can afford to eat beef every day. You know beef is the building block for the game,” Vincent jokingly shares.
Whilst said in jest, this statement offers a glimpse into the direct and personal impact of the Kes100 million sponsorship by Safaricom via its M-PESA brand to Shujaa and the national women’s sevens rugby team, Kenya Lionesses.
In addition to paying for the monthly allowances for the players and the technical bench, the sponsorship also provides the players with comprehensive medical insurance.
This is critical given how rugby is a high contact sport, and injuries are part of the course. The safety net gives players confidence to give 110 per cent on the pitch.
“In terms of health insurance, we’ve already had two major injuries this season. In December, Chrisant Ojwang dislocated his ankle during the Dubai 7s, and he’s already up and running about two months after that just because the surgery was done immediately when the injury happened,” explains Kevin ‘Bling’ Wambua, Shujaa’s Head Coach.
Bling, thus named due to his penchant for fashionable wear during his playing days, is a digitally savvy tactician and a great believer in video analysis to improve training and game tactics. Therefore, the airtime allowances component of the M-PESA sponsorship package comes in handy when Bling shares video clips with his charges.
The 2024/2025 World Rugby Series has legs in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Singapore. The top 8 teams after Singapore will be guaranteed another dance next season, while the teams in position 9 – 12 will have to battle it out in the promotion/relegation lottery to be held during the Los Angeles leg of the tour.
For George Ooro, popularly known as ‘Japolo’, Luo for a ‘man from heaven’, his prayer is that Shujaa grinds out wins and secures a top 8 berth, in part to repay the support from M-PESA.
“We must fight to be in the top 8 at the end of the season. But the truth is that the series is tough. There is no weak team. Every team is hunting for the win.”
While the Shujaas are fighting to retain their position in the men’s premier rugby sevens competition, the Kenya Lionesses are on the prowl to step up to the global stage via success in the second-tier Challenger Series. The Lionesses will begin their quest in early March in South Africa which will host the first two legs of the women’s Challenger Series.
Kenya Rugby Union is now on an upward trajectory with hopes pegged on the M-PESA sponsorship opening the door to more confirmations of support from other Kenyan corporates.
