Why Shujaa will not wear SportPesa-branded jerseys in Madrid playoffs

When the captains of the best 16 men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams in the world gathered at the Royal Palace in Madrid on Wednesday ahead of the inaugural HSBC SVNS Grand Final and promotion and relegation Play Off on 31 May – 2 June, keen observers noticed that the Kenyan jersey which has the SportPesa sponsor logo emblazoned on it, had been covered.

The Shujaa co-captain Vincent Onyala stood as tall as he could but the SportPesa logo had been taped out in white, sending some sort of concern among the team’s fans and the general public.

“Why is the Kenya Sevens jersey shirt sponsorship blocked?” one user on social media platform X asked.

“Was there pressure from the organizers to cover the sponsor,” another one posed.

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Lead online gaming firm SportPesa has now released a statement revealing the exact reason why their logo will not be visible when the team takes part in the playoffs.

Below is the full statement.

“Over the last 5 months, Shujaa have honored and been competitive in the Challenger Series played, an effort that has reaffirmed that Kenya holds the potential to get back to where they belong and grow the love with the fans of rugby all over the world.

However, with the team set to take part in the play-offs in Madrid beginning 31st May 2024, the boys will not play in SportPesa-branded kits, following a policy with the Spanish laws that prohibit shirt sponsorships by betting firms.

This should not be mistaken for any deliberate move by the players or the management to deny SportPesa visibility, as the main partner, or get confused for any disagreement with regards to the partnership.

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At a time when the Kenya National Rugby 7s team, the Shujaa, would have been perceived to be at their lowest, following an unfortunate relegation from the HSBC World Sevens Series in May 2023, SportPesa stayed put and reaffirmed their continued support for the boys.

Marking an end to the 19-year stint on the core side, the relegation meant that all the support was needed to make a return. As would have been the case, SportPesa did not terminate their sponsorship but restructured to grow and develop the game, from the grassroot all the way up.

In a move that rebirthed the National 7s Circuit, the SportPesa 7s became a feeder to the national team and soon after, the Shujaa went on to clinch the Rugby Africa 7s, ultimately booking their slot in the Olympics 2024 in Paris.

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Despite the developments, SportPesa continues to rally behind the Shujaa, and wish them all the best on their final stab at returning to the core HSBC World Rugby Sevens. Go for it boys!” the statement from SportPesa read.

Shujaa have been grouped in Pool B alongside Chile, hosts Spain and Central South Pacific Ocean nation Samoa while Uruguay, Germany, United States and Canada will battle it out in Pool A.

The competition format involves two pools of four teams to decide who plays who in the all-important play off matches on Sunday, with the winners of the resulting four cross-over matches securing their place in HSBC SVNS 2025, while the losing teams will enter the regional qualification pathway for the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025.

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