• During the club’s grand homecoming, Shabana will also officially hand over the trophy to the club’s patron Kisii Governor Simba Arati.
• The club’s opening game of the season against Murang’a Seal might be played in Nairobi since Narok will be hosting KECOSO games, which will culminate on August 27.
Image: ANGWENYI GICHANA
Newly-promoted Kenya League side Shabana will on Tuesday unveil a Sh20 million sponsorship from Chinese gaming firm Bangbet.
Club secretary general Elizaphan Kerama said the sponsorship will be unveiled during a function at Gusii Stadium from 11 am.
“After much deliberations and negotiations, we have settled on Bangbet as our sponsor. We held discussions with other sponsors but some were unwilling to commit so we settled on Bangbet. The deal will be unveiled and signed on Tuesday,” he said.
During the club’s grand homecoming, Shabana will also officially hand over the trophy to the club’s patron Kisii Governor Simba Arati.
The governor will also officially launch the rehabilitation of Gusii Stadium.
“The contractor will work on the playing field, inner perimeter, holding wall and security features at the stadium,” noted Kerama.
He revealed that they will play their home matches at the William ole Ntimama Stadium in neighbouring Narok county as renovations continue at Gusii.
However, the club’s opening game of the season against Murang’a Seal might be played in Nairobi since Narok will be hosting KECOSO games, which will culminate on August 27.
“We expect that the contractor at Gusii Stadium will take at least two months to complete the works. We wanted to have our high-profile games at Nyayo and Kasarani but the two facilities have been closed for renovations too,” Kerama added.
Image: ANGWENYI GICHANA
“We shall also officially kick off a mass membership drive targeting up to 100, 000 members. The membership fee is Sh500 while each branch will register with Sh10, 000. We plan to have branches all over the country and in the diaspora. Already we have received interest from various states in the US, Canada and the UK,” said Kerama.
He also announced that all the players who were part of the team that bagged the NSL title last season were expected to report to camp on Sunday.
After the ceremony, the team will travel to Nairobi to meet Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba, who will host the team for breakfast on Wednesday.
“After the meeting with Namwamba, we shall also meet his ICT counterpart Eliud Owalo and Education’s Ezekiel Machogu. After that we shall embark on serious pre-season preparations,” Kerama revealed.
He said they will officially part ways with six players after the ceremony on Tuesday. The SG further noted that the club is in the process of signing 10 players in the current transfer window, which opened on Friday.
"We want to strengthen all positions. We have identified at least 10 players with KPL experience to bolster our team. KPL is very tough and competitive,” concluded Kerama.