Good news for Rugby fans as key sponsors Safaricom, Kenya Airways and Bamburi Cement are in talks with the Rugby Union about renewing their sponsorships. A couple of months back Safaricom who were the key sponsor of the 7’s circuit, the Safaricom 7’s withdrew their sponsorship over integrity issues at the KRU . The key sponsors said today that they are willing to support the growth of the sport by nurturing and exposing talent now that the Union is back on the right track.
KRU is in the process of revamping the organization to make sure that it is accountable, transparent and following good governance principles. To this end the Union has introduced new H.R procedures, finance processes, independent committees to run the test series. There are also structured guidelines for managers, coaches and players.
The RU also has a new C.E.O and C.F.O and there is also a separation of the board which provides strategic direction. The operational win is now led by a secretariat.
The Union will host National Development Conference on 2nd September themed “Towards Accountable Management and High Performance in Rugby.” The conference will involve all rugby stakeholders.
K.R.U Chairman Richard Omwela said that the Union was putting in place stringent measures to govern internal processes and deal with concerns raised by their major sponsors.
Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore “We recognize that the game needs continued sponsorship in order to grow. Safaricom believes we have the opportunity to provide crucial support to encourage young and upcoming rugby players to realize their full potential. However, we will not sponsor rugby unless we are confident that our concerns on ethics have been addressed,” Mr. Collymore said.
Chris Diaz, Marketing Director, Kenya Airways said that KQ was ready to support the new management and activities geared towards growing the team. The airline was ready to drive the team to greater heights. “Kenya Airways is keen to drive the team to even greater heights as they aspire to gain more traction in international competitions. However, we remain conscious of the fact that there are still unsettled issues in the union and we will be keen to have them resolved quickly.”
Bamburi Cement said it was pleased that progress had been made and that the new developments were encouraging.
