Insurance company Britam has signed a three year sponsorship deal with Kenyan Premier League side Mathare United. The deal is worth Ksh. 75m and as part of it, Mathare will be expected to be among the top five teams in the KPL.

Speaking during unveiling of the sponsorship, Mathare United boss Bob Munro said the deal means they will no longer have to sell their best players.

“We’ve had six tough years since we won the KPL title. We’ve been victims of our own success. We keep producing good players but when other clubs give them a good offer, do I have the moral right to hold on to a player even if he has a contract? Off course I let the players go when they get good offers,” Munro said.

Mathare will have to work hard in order to keep the deal and Munro is certain the top five is a realistic target for his side. The deal will see Mathare move their home matches from Machakos where they’ve been playing since last year to Nyayo stadium.

“We were 10th last season but top five is a realistic goal and that’s what we have agreed on. Frankly speaking we are going for number one; why should you aim for less than top place?” He added.

Speaking at the same forum, Britam’s Director of Marketing and co-operate affairs Muthoga Ngera said there were various reason why they decided to partner with the slum boys. Among them is the discipline of the team as well as their background. Ngera said supporting Mathare will help them reach out to many people.

“We looked at various parameters some of them leadership, brand association among others. We will be putting in Ksh. 25m every year; and in 3 years and we want to ensure they have become amongst the top clubs in Kenya,” Ngera explained.

Meanwhile the Insurance Company has been granted rights to brand Nyayo Stadium for the next two years to a tune of Ksh. 80m. The deal will see Britam renovate the stadium’s key areas including dressing rooms as well as the VIP section.

The Branding was officially unveiled by Sports CS Hassan Wario who also confirmed that from June, the government will embark on building two ultra modern stadiums. Initially the government had promised to build five stadiums but Wario says they will start with two.

“We cannot just wake up and do it overnight, there are budgetary requirements and in the next financial year we will have around Ksh. 1B for this sector. We also have highly advanced interest in building a stadium in Eldoret,” Wario explained.