Kenya’s FA asks govt to ease stance on betting firms

The president of the football association from Kenya urged the government to soften its stance on betting firms.

Kenya.- Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa urged the government this week to slow down on its stance on betting firms. He referred to the fight between the government and betting firms in regards to tax compliance.

Mwendwa said that the sport will be the biggest loser when it comes to this tax compliance fight. Kenya’s government has recently hit a number of betting firms for allegedly being non-compliant in tax remittance. This led to the cancellation of their operating licences. The President of the federation urged the government to consider the financial support that the league gets from these firms.

Moreover, Mwendwa singled out SportPesa’s contribution of €39 million that supported different football entities. The president said that he feared that this fight with the government would leave teams without this kind of financial support.

What football clubs could potentially lose

“We are on the verge of losing approximately €39 million as football will be the loser in this fight. If SportPesa exits, we will be left without a title sponsor for the league and Shield Cup. Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards and the national team will also suffer. This is why I am asking the government to have football in mind as they do their regulations. Honestly, without them, we’ll struggle and even the big international matches will no longer happen,” said Mwendwa.

“I understand that the Kenya Sports Fund draws money from betting and should the firms’ close shop, then it will be difficult to run the activities of the national teams. We have in the past requested money for international assignments from the fund and we hope the government will have in mind the development of the sport when doing their regulations.”