Top Earning Sports Personalities in Kenya in 2010

Sport in Kenya has slowly become bread and butter for people fully engaged in it professionally. Fondly referred to by its peers as a ‘sporting nation’, the fact of the matter though is that much of the earnings are lop-sided with the one sport (athletics) accounting for almost 70% of total earnings.
The other sport, football also has two individuals sitting among the top earners but they ply their trade overseas with little or no earnings from the local scene. It is also worth noting that some sporting disciplines have been able to attract major sponsorships as a discipline but the trickle-down effect to the players has not been reflected. This is the case in golf and rugby which enjoyed in excess of KShs 1 billion and 0.5 billion respectively.
However going by the winnings, appearance fees and maybe some endorsement figures (throw ad revenues in there) and this is our list, in no particular order (most of these are estimates as actual figures are not easily availed here). We hope to inspire the budding talent waiting in the wings to take these individuals places;

Mariga - Image courtesy of www.inter.it

1. McDonald Mariga – having transferred to the Italian club Inter Milan from Parma mid-way last season, he was part of the 2010 UEFA Champions League, Italian League and Italian Cup title wins last year. Add with the heavily criticized ad and endorsement with UAP Insurance and Coca-Cola Kenya

{Estimates: $12,000,000 p.a., excl, bonuses and endorsements}

2. Samuel Wanjiru – winning the Chicago Marathon (prize money & time bonuses of US$ 115,000); as well as earning an appearance fee of an average of US$ 250,000. He also won the World Marathon Majors 2009-10 getting US$ 500,000. There is the sponsorship deal with Meiji Seika sponsorship deal ( makers of sports supplement Savas) worth US$ 3 million spread over 10 years signed in 2008

{Estimates:  US$ 500,000 for World Marathon title, US$ 115,000 prize money & bonus in Chicago, Appearance fees average of US$ 250,000 & US$ 300,000 per year for next 10 years from 2008-2018}

3. Dennis Oliech – he also plies his trade in Europe thus he has some sizeable income from the French League. He has not had much in endorsements both locally and abroad due to his initial big-headedness and national team mishaps. He has mellowed now and recently signed an extension contract with French club AJ Auxerre.

{Estimates:  between US$ 870,000 – 12,000,000 p.a.}

4. David Rudisha –the darling of the athletics world last year and Kenyans gave him a hell of a vote (online) and won the IAAF Male Sports Athlete of the Year; he also won a couple of races on the IAAF Diamond League of course attracting some bonuses as he broke the record twice in the space of one week

{Estimates: US$ 100,000 for World Athlete of the Year 2010, US$ 40,000 from IAAF Diamond League, undisclosed appearance and record breaking fees}

Nancy L- Gold medal 2010 CWG- New Delhi

5. Nancy Jebet Langat – she had a mixed year, being part of the winners of the inaugural IAAF Diamond League and also winning a Commonwealth gold ( some pickings from the government for winners can be added up); also won the Sports Personality of the Year Award-Kenya Female - 2010 edition 

{Estimates: US$ 40,000 IAAF Diamond League winnings, US$ 6,250 for 2010 SOYA Lady winner, Govt bonus from 2010 Commonwealth Gold medal}

5.    Other special mentions;

6. Mary Keitany – women half marathon specialists, won the World Half Marathon title in 2009, 2010 Abu Dhabi Half Marathon and Ras al Khaimah Half Marathon ( where she broke the world record this year)

{Estimates: US$ 357,740 in prize money, appearance fees and record-breaking bonuses

7. Edna Kiplagat – winner of 2010 Los Angeles Marathon and New York Marathon

{Estimates: US$ 303,000}

8. Wilson K. Kiprotich – marathoner

{Estimates: US$ 197,010}

Robert K. Cheruiyot - 2010 Boston Marathon Winner

9. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot – winner of 2010 Boston Marathon, quoted saying he would buy 50 more cows from his prize money of US$ 175,000

{Estimates: US$ 175, 545}

Dennis Oliech's Auxerre makes Champions League matches worth the watch for Kenyans

Thanks to 2-1 aggregate against Zenit St. Petersburg , Kenyan football fans will now have two players ( and teams) to root for during the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League games this season. Auxerre confirmed their qualification to the UEFA Champs League group stages which kick off on Tuesday September 14th,2010. After last year's debut by MacDonald Mariga who's Inter Milan went all the way to winning the treasured Cup, shall we have a second bite at the cherry? Far-fetched but worth the watch.
The draw for the group is on later today and we shall see who plays who with the pots drawing as follows;

Pots for UEFA Champions League draw:

Pot One: Inter Milan, Barcelona, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Lyon.

Pot Two: Werder Bremen, Real Madrid, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Benfica, Valencia, Marseille, Panathinaikos.

Pot Three: Tottenham, Rangers, Ajax, Schalke, Basle, Braga, FC Copenhagen, Spartak Moscow.

Pot Four: Hapoel Tel Aviv, FC Twente, Rubin Kazan, Auxerre, CFR Cluj, Partizan Belgrade, MSK Zilina, Bursaspor.

(Source ; www.bbc.co.uk) 

Related News:

Macdonald Mariga is hoping to use his current placing at Inter Milan to land European football scouts to the local scene. After the country's past dismal performance and with the current resurgence in the local league, there is bound to be some talent budding which needs to land our young players to the lucrative leagues.  With this it is hoped that we can challenge for continental honours and also be able to make a point if not qualify for the 2014 World Cup - I don't see why not !

Kenyan 2010/11 Budget Estimates : Sports Gets a big miss

Maybe we've not read the fine print, but not much was mentioned with regards to sports development in the Kenyan Budget estimates for the financial year 2010/11. What sounds ironic is the fact that for the first time, a sitting President missed the Budget reading to attend to what....sports extravanganza !

2008 had the then Finance Minister allocate a measly Kshs. 1m per constituency towards sponsoring football tournaments which didn't go as expected thanks in part to the murky Kenyan football management scene. If the technocrats in the Ministry could look deeper into their reports and especially with remittances from winnings abroad, they would see that our sportsmen are some of the biggest contributors to the national kitty.
Another observation is that Kenyan corporate firms are taking a bigger role in developing sport in the country. The Government can do the same by matching the amounts in major sports development programmes. The Sports Stadia is one such body which hasn't put in a good show in the last 2 years.
Incentives can be offered to development of infrastructure like we have seen with the golfing parks being built at Rea Vipingo and the expected Thika Greens. That way, the begging cup that federations have been used to can be channelled towards enhancing competitiveness in their respective leagues.
Youth development programmes are some popular tunes we have sung for the longest time but in actual sense, it remains that, lip service. There are other suggestions that we have outlined many a times on this platform.
Barbs in plenty to the Ministry of Finance for such an oversight in the midst of such a glaring opporturnity for sport !!!

In Other News:
When one Ministry dithered and ignored the sporting world, another was busy rewarding our own as Goodwill ambassador. The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sport yesterday appointed McDonald Mariga as Kenya's Goodwill Ambassador in Italy. In discussion is the possibility of attracting more visitors from Italy ( currently ranked 3rd with lowly 67,000 visitors after US & UK ; patronising Kenya's coastal town of Malindi) ; developing youth academies in Kenya in liaison with Italian clubs to spot and nurtute talent. Do these guys sit in the same Cabinet ???

Mariga's Inter Milan Score Treble but....

Over the weekend for most Kenyans it was the perfect curtain-raiser for the upcoming 2010 World Cup. Kenya's own Macdonald Mariga didn't play in the Final but that was not a hindrance as by virtue of his team being in the final, we rooted for the team to make history under one Jose Mourinho.
History indeed was made and Inter became among the elite European teams of winning the treble ( the League Championship, League Cup and Champions League) - other teams being Ajax Amsterdam, Celtic , among others and most recently Barcelona last season.
While we congratulate Mourinho for winning these titles, there is the small thing of his unconfirmed move to Real Madrid. As he was quoted saying that any manager worth his salt must have coached in the 3 most competitive leagues, and that Real's always a boon; we cannot guarantee Mariga's fate in playing for regular games for Inter let alone his being part of next season's team.

Hoping Mourinho's continues with his tradition of moving along with some of the players who help him mould a team, Mariga might be excess of his requirements given the La Liga's team penchant for spending excessively to attract the best talent. Again seeing as some of the game's scouts might be tempted to indulge in the transfer market after the World Cup hoping to get some raw talent  from there ( though most post-World Cup signings prove to be highly over-rated, we all know of the Davor Sukers, Denilsons and others of this game).
There is also the bait that Manchester City might be seeking what they missed out in the mid-season's signings in January. 
All in all, we pray our home-boy gets the chance to prove his own on the pitch whichever team he plays for, we shall be seeing our boys conquer Europe in the 2010/2011 Champions League.

Note:
Dennis Oliech's the other Kenya expected to play in next season's Champions' League after Auxerre finished third and thus is to play in the League proper. We sure hope to see more Kenyans moving into the lucrative fields after getting transfers from the local league as we improve on our game here. Who's most likely to join Mariga and Oliech? Keep it here as we keep you posted on the off-season, summer signings.

UEFA Champions League 2010/2011 : Double Treat for Kenyan fans

Thanks to the exploits of their respective teams Inter Milan (Italy) and Auxerre (France), Kenyan football fans shall be treated and enjoy more UEFA Champions League 2010/2011 than has ever been. Seeing our very own is bound to change quite a number of dynamics especially TV rights  and viewership.
This year the only local TV station screening the matches was K24 (which a little birdie tells me partners with KBC, but is trying to cut its own niche). In 2008/9 NTV, Nation Media Group's Kenyan TV station had that priviledge but has left it audience asking what happened to its sports offering.
To our two brothers, it is kudos and wish Mariga's Inter all the best against German's champions Bayern Munich on Saturday 22nd May. It would be a nice crowning moment for all football fans across the country this season, before we start the 2010 World Cup in June.

Mariga makes cameo appearance as Inter shield Barcelona from UEFA Champions League Final

For what was billed as the battle between the 'Special One' on the pitch (Lionel Messi) and the 'Special One' off the pitch & on the touchline ( Jose Mourinho), the latter endured to end the misery of losing at the semi-final stages (previously with Chelsea) and take I Nerazzurri into the Final of UEFA Champions League ( this year being played on May 22nd a Saturday due to the 2010 World Cup).
The Kenyan football fan had a unique opportunity to see one of their own playing at a UEFA Champs game and though it was a cameo appearance, it was enough to turn our patriotic selves into rapturous cheer...well forgive the Catalans and the beautiful game ( Arsenal - English club cited to play a similar game suffered at their hands - so fair game !)

Images courtesy of Inter Milan's website

Now isn't Mourinho just the hero for sneaking in and taking our classy midfielder and most likely turning him into a world-class act. We said so in a previous post here. The Nerazzurri gave Real Madrid players, Guti & Ronaldo something to smile about and save them the nightmare of seeing their arch-rivals play at their home pitch in the Final.
Read some real jewels from the post-match press conference by Jose Mourinho here.
Can't wait for the 22nd of May as we hope to see our own take on German Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and seemingly start as favourites to win the trophy.

MacDonald Mariga - Making the Champions' League cum English Debut ?

After creating such a buzz during the transfer window in January, our very own McDonald Mariga's about to take to the pitch, this time on a high profile game which might just launch his career into greatness.
Playing for one of the continent's revered sides and playing against one of England's best hopes for a Champions League win, Mariga will come up against tried and tested pedigree at a continental level.
It's good that for a long time now most Kenyans have rooted for either an English or Spanish side but Italians, we've never really fancied. Well feast your eyes on this one ! Tonight at 2245hrs on your favourite sports channel (if you have cable) or if they screen it on the normal network(s). Here's the squad named by Jose Mourinho.