Kothbiro enters grand finale
Local and foreign talent scouts will tomorrow have a field day as they are expected to throng Nairobi’s Umeme grounds in Ziwani area, Starehe constituency in a bid to spot talent as the 43rd edition of the Kothbiro off-season football tournament enters the final stage.
The annual off-season Kothbiro football tournament, that has been sponsored by incoming Nairobi Governor Richard Ngatia will culminate tomorrow Sunday 6/2/2022 at its traditional Ziwani venue, this marking a return to normalcy after several years of shaky administration due to lack of a sponsor.
The tournament this year received a shot in the arm after securing sponsorship from Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) president Richard Ngatia who came in to boost the tournament several years after the former sponsor, an online sports betting firm pulled out.
The running of the tournament has this season had a smooth run with referees and grounds being paid promptly.
After several years of turmoil where teams’ prize money took long to be paid or went missing altogether to the question of timely payment of referees and match logistics, the sponsorship from Ngatia, who has declared interest to run for the seat of Nairobi County Gubernatorial seat at this year’s general elections, has gone a long way to restore confidence in how the tournament is run.
Ngatia responded to calls from the organisers to singlehandedly offer rock solid sponsorship of Kenya’s biggest offseason football tournament Kothbiro. He inked the deal with the Kothbiro Management last year in December.
The deal which has so far seen the smooth running of the tournament also includes the prize money for the winners and the 2nd and 3rd runners up.
“Sports and especially grassroots sports which is responsible for the growth of talents is in my heart. This is why I am sponsoring this tournament to show the people of Nairobi that I have them at heart with or without the Nairobi Governor’s seat,” said Ngatia.
Kothbiro is the one of the oldest and only off season tournaments that brings the entire Nairobi together the other being the defunct Chairman’s cup which was famed for bringing the league stars and grassroots budding talents together.
Not a new comer in sports support, Ngatia was the man behind the sponsorship of Chairman’s cup which was an off season tournament that was sponsored by Preventer Condoms brand, a product that had been rolled out into the Kenyan Market leader Megascope Healthcare Limited, a market leader company that is founded and led by Ngatia.
“I believe that sports is a multi billion industry that can employ thousands of our talented youth. Therefore, I am not supporting Kothbiro just for political gain; I started a long time ago with the Chairman’s cup and I will continue supporting our youth in sports to realise their full potential,” Ngatia said.
Ngatia who is will vie on the Azimio ticket signed the deal in the presence of Ziwani MCA Millicent Mugadi who has been instrumental in securing the deal.
1M up for grabs for tournament winners.
The top four teams at the end of the competition will receive prize money from the tournament sponsor Richard Ngatia, the incoming Nairobi Governor.
The winners will take home Sh300,000, runners-up Sh100,000 and third placed team walking away with Sh50,000.
