The 2022 Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA) has received sponsorship of over Sh5 million from various corporate sponsors, which will go towards organising the awards gala later in January.
The received amounts are Sh1.5 million from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), Lotto Foundation Sh1.2 million, Safaricom PLC Sh500, 000, Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) Sh500, 000 with other sponsors being the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and the Kenya Sports Academy.
Speaking at one of the hotels in Nairobi, Friday, while receiving the sponsorship, SOYA founder, Dr Paul Tergat, thanked the sports fraternity for their great efforts in making comebacks through distinguished performances and their accomplishments in various sports, including relays, tennis, handball, rallies and golf.
“The 19th edition of SOYA gala celebrates the continued resilience of our sports men and women who have continued to retain traction and display their still power as the world pushes through a myriad of challenges,” said Tergat.
“We need to wade-off doping and build our sporting careers through resilience, consistency, and diligence,” said Tergat.
He added that their focus this year onwards has encapsulated their theme as to protect their integrity and be proud of what they do by playing clean.
Renowned sportsman, Henry Wanyoike, said sports is a great tool that boosts our economy.
He also urged sports men and women to build a credible sporting career that can be a good foundation to a good livelihood now and into retirement.
In addition, Wanyoike highlighted that the media should focus on upcoming sports personalities, applauding those who have done well locally and urged the media as a whole not to entirely focus on international talents.
SOYA is an organisation which primarily focuses on identifying, nurturing and rewarding sports personalities and their theme this year is ‘Our integrity; our pride; our sports.’
The gala night will be held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on January 20, 2023.
By Phinta Amondi and Trepher Leslie
