New dawn for Kenyan football as league champions to bag Sh15 million

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Hussein Mohammed and CEO SportPesa Ronald Karauri grace the official launch of the 2025/26 FKF Premier League season in Kiambu County. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Kenyan football entered a new era today after the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and gaming giant SportPesa unveiled a major boost in prize money for the country's top league, tripling the champions' reward from Sh5 million to Sh15 million.

The announcement was made during the official launch of the SportPesa League name and logo in Nairobi, where FKF President Hussein Mohamed and SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri revealed the new prize structure.

The initiative, they said, is meant to raise competitiveness in the Kenyan Premier League and give players and clubs greater motivation.

"This is a historic moment for our league," Hussein said.

"In addition to the ten million shillings mentioned, FKF will inject another ten million. The clubs will now have 20 million shillings to be shared among the top three finishers at the end of the season. The champions will get 15 million shillings, three million will go to the second-place team, and two million to the third."

For many years, winners of the Kenyan Premier League had to settle for just Sh5 million, a figure that many stakeholders felt was too little considering the effort and expenses involved in running a top-flight club.

The new structure changes that, with FKF contributing Sh10 million and SportPesa matching the same amount to create a Sh20 million prize pool.

Karauri said the move was about rewarding excellence and giving meaning to the competition.

"We are determined to make the SportPesa League highly competitive. Every player must feel they are striving for something meaningful," he said.

"Initially, we had allocated six million shillings as prize money, but after consultations with FKF, we agreed to increase it to ten million. Now, with FKF's commitment, we have doubled the figure for the top three teams."

Hussein further revealed that this increase is just the beginning, with long-term plans to raise the champions' prize money to at least Sh50 million.

"This is something we will continue to develop. I believe this league has the potential to earn its champions up to 50 million shillings and beyond, and that is our direction," he said.

The development marks a new dawn for Kenyan football, offering hope that better rewards will push clubs to raise their standards and bring more excitement to fans across the country