The Kenya Secondary Schools term one ball games have received a sponsorship boost of Ksh 30 million from Brookside company.
The term one games will be held from 9th to 14th of this month in Machakos.
According to Brookside head of communications Wilson Okongo, the sponsorship will be channeled towards preparations for the term one ball games.
Okongo called on other corporates to come on board and sponsor Secondary School Games as they aim to tap and nurture talents at a young age.
The dairy processing company has doubled the sponsorship this year ahead of the event set for April 9-13 at Machakos School grounds.
Brookside has sponsored the inter-schools competition since 2002, apart from 2020 to 2022 when the games were suspended due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Brookside’s Communication Manager Wilson Okong’o said Sh. 21.5 million will go directly towards the games preparations, kitting of the participants, medals and certificates while the remaining Sh. 8.75 million would be used by the company for branding purposes during the event.
“Brookside is keen to support talent growth in the country and that’s why we’re back with increased sponsorship. This is a commitment to corporate citizenship ideals. These games are a perfect melting point of sporting talent.
“We take pride in sponsoring school games because through this initiative we help unearth sporting talents and we will continue to partner with Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) to ensure our mission is achieved.”
On his part, KSSSA Secretary General David Ngugi hailed the full return of the sponsorship that was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
“We are very excited to get Brookside sponsorship back on track. It has been a struggle after Covid wreaked havoc on the games calendar but thankfully the partnership is back. School games is the biggest platform anywhere in the world that unearths sports talents,” said Ngugi.
Ministry of Education deputy director Nelson Sifuna also lauded the move, terming it as a confirmation of confidence between the KSSSA and Brookside in sports development.
The Term One Games will feature basketball, handball, rugby, hockey, swimming, cross country and athletics.
The week-long events will be held at Machakos boys.