Govt takes over Kenya Open title sponsorship

The government has injected Sh 253m into the Kenya Open Golf Championship slated for March 14-17 at Karen Country Club.The government has now taken over as title sponsors of the tournament that is to be called ‘Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship’.

Barclays Bank of Kenya, who have been the title sponsors for the past nine years, will now be part of other subsidiary firms facilitating the event. The government has promised to sponsor the event for three years inclusive this year’s tournament to be held at Karen Country Club in Nairobi.

Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has said the sponsorship and change of name is to thank Kenyans who have made it possible for the tournament to successfully run.

“The event will now be about the magical Kenyans who have made it possible to have this competition elevated from a Challenge Tour to Main Tour,” Balala said on Monday.

“It shows that Kenyans are more resilient and our objective now is to have Kenyans seen worldwide.”
Through the tournament, the government is also aiming to reach a target of 2.5 million tourists this year as it is now part of the main European Tour. Kenya received two million tourists last year.

“We decided to sponsor golf because of its popularity worldwide. We appreciate the local sports fraternity for the support,” Balala added.

Other than Magical Kenya and Barclays, other sponsors are Kenya Breweries, Hemmingway’s Nairobi, Coca-Cola, Wilken Group, Copycat, AAR, Nation Media Group, DStv and Meridian Group.

The tournament is expected to start on March 14 and will feature a total of 156 players including 6 amateurs.