Where Are The Sponsors?

Rumours about this move by Cricket Kenya to postpone the tour by Bangladesh until after the Intercontinental Cup visit to Canada have been circulating for a few days now, but seem to have finally been confirmed to day with this report on Cricinfo.

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This is worrying news for Kenya, but there may be some answers to the puzzle as to why Kenya are not attracting sponsors in how the news was released. Despite being on the mailing list for press releases from Cricket Kenya, the first I heard of this officially, was the report on cricinfo. Not surprisingly, there is nothing about it in the Kenyan online dailies. Cricinfo have not been that friendly towards Kenyan or indeed any associate cricket just recently, and one would have thought it would make more sense to have released this to a wider range of people where at least there is some support.

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If Cricket Kenya want to attract sponsors and TV broadcasters, and with the high profile of cricket in Bangladesh there is no reason why this should not happen, they must market the game to those sponsors. By this I mean they need to create an interest in the game in the national press. This means keeping them informed of what is going on, and the progress being made.

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Cricket Kenya's administrators are working hard at building Kenya back up again on the international scene, but not enough of what is done is being communicated to the press. Attending ICC meetings in London is all well and good for the game, and it will help take it forward, but for local sponsors to become interested, things must move forward on the local front as well.

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There is still no Cricket Kenya web page up and running, despite the suggestions page having been open for more than a month. It should not take this long to set up a website, and Cricket Kenya should be asking their hosts why the site is not yet ready. It would go a long way towards increasing interest in the game both amongst the public, and importantly amongst the corporate sector in Kenya.

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There is still, as far as I know, no national domestic league set up, nor is there a junior league to feed into it. Sponsors will want to be able to see their dollars going somewhere. Getting them to show an interest in the Bangladesh series should not be a problem, but they may be holding back as there is no visible evidence of where their money will go afterwards. After all, they have been stung once by the KCA and as a result still seem wary of supporting cricket. Cricket Kenya need to look very seriously at changing this image.

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According to reports in the local press, it was only very late that the Kenya team went into training for the Bangladesh tour. Given that sponsors would want to be associated a competetive series, this may also have had an effect. Plus there is the fact that at least two of Kenya's best players are currently overseas. To attract sponsors, you need your best team playing. Again, Cricket Kenya may have to look at the small cost of flying those players back compared to the difference they should make in terms of advertising dollars.

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While there are very worrying signs in this development, there may also be some hidden benefits. For one, Roger Harper gets a month to prepare the team for their next outing (now vs Canada), rather than two weeks. That can only be of benefit, and should Kenya perform well in their visit to Totonto, that might make sponsors more likely to support a home series.

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There is also the hints by Tom tikolo that Kenya are near to signing a major sponsor. I certainly hope so. the longer we go without, and the more energy Cricket Kenya have to put into this rather than concentrating on the infastructure and development of the game, the further behind the other Associates we will fall. With the World Cup coming up next year, and US$1 million at stake for qualifying for the next one, this is something Kenyan cricket simply cannot afford.