SportPesa loses Everton FC, F1 Racing Point sponsorships

Sports betting operator SportPesa has lost two more high-profile sports sponsorships, leading the company’s CEO to blame Kenya for “bringing down” one of their own.

On Sunday, English Premier League club Everton announced that it would end its SportPesa shirt sponsorship at the conclusion of the current season, two years ahead of their deal’s planned expiration. The club said the “difficult” decision had been made following a comprehensive review of the team’s “vision and future growth plans.”

Everton thanked the Kenya-based SportPesa for helping the team “grow our footprint in Africa and further strengthen our special relationship with the continent.” The sponsorship deal Everton signed with SportPesa in 2017 was thought to be the most lucrative deal in the club’s history, worth around £7m per year.

Sunday also saw F1 racing team Racing Point unveil its new car signage, which didn’t contain any SportPesa logos despite the company signing a ‘multi-year’ title sponsorship with Racing Point one year ago.