Barclays Bank Boosts Kenya Open with 75 Million Shillings

Barclays Bank Kenya, which is part of Absa Group Limited, has announced plans to invest 75 million shillings each year, for the next two years, into the Magical Kenya Open golf tournament.

The move by Barclays Bank has made it the biggest sponsorship deal from a private sector corporation in the tournament’s 51-year history.

Barclays Bank has committed another additional 70 million shillings into the tournament that will be used to raise the profile of the event bringing the total sponsorship value to a total of 220 million shillings. The bank has been a sponsor of the Kenya Open tournament for the last eight years, six of those as title sponsors.

The announcement was made on Wednesday 19^th February 2019, at the Karen Country Club, where this year’s Kenya Open Golf Championship will be held from 14^th to 17^th March.

Announcing details of the new sponsorship, Barclays Bank of Kenya Managing Director Jeremy Awori said the investment would build on the successes of previous years to further improve the profile of the tournament. This coincides with the Open being elevated to Elite European Tour. Following this elevation from the Challenge Tour, the total prize money has more than doubled to 1.1 million Euros.

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With elevation to the main European Tour, the tournament will attract a much larger audience both in the number of people coming to the Karen Country club as well as those following through traditional and social media.

The tournament is set to be broadcast nationally through local media and across the world on international channels including SkySports News, Supersport, Fox Sports, Golf Channel among others, reaching at least 490 million homes globally.

Kenya Open Golf Limited (KOGL) Chairman, Mr. Peter Kanyago welcomed the renewed and enhanced sponsorship by Barclays Bank. “We are delighted to be extending our partnership with Barclays Bank of Kenya for the next two years and look forward to a more fruitful engagement as we continue growing the stature of the Kenya Open Golf Championship,” he said.

Ahead of the main tournament, KOGL has lined up several activities including the ongoing Safari Tours which feature professional golfers and amateurs. The Safari Tours also features a golfers’ clinic conducted by the Professional Golfers of Kenya targeting junior golfers as well as Barclays Junior Eagle account holders. Barclays has sponsored the Safari Tour Series to the tune of 3 million shillings.

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About Kenya Open Golf Tournament

Kenya Open is a golf tournament that was founded in 1967 and has been an event on the European based Challenge Tour schedule since 1991. The tournament attracts an average of 9,000 people annually and the plan this year is to deliver a deliberate demystification campaign in order to drive more interest in the game.

Absa’s History in Sports Sponsorships

Absa’s association with sports sponsorship is long-standing. Absa has been the official sponsor of one of the continent’s biggest football tournament – the Absa Premiership League since 2007, which has seen the growth and development of local and foreign soccer players and coaches within the league. Absa also currently sponsors the Absa Cape Epic, an exhilarating eight-day off-road mountain bike stage race that takes place annually in South Africa’s Western Cape Province.