Kenyan Premier League sponsor SportPesa has filed a suit at the Commercial and Admiralty Division of the High Court in Nairobi against 20 defendants, alleging breach of the exclusivity clause in its naming rights agreement with the Football Kenya Federation.
SportPesa contends that it holds exclusive rights to brand the league as the “SportPesa League” across all media, digital platforms, data services, and related channels within Kenya.
It argues that several platforms continue to publish live scores, fixtures, standings, match statistics, and player data under the league’s generic name or other unauthorised designations.
The defendants named in the case include Sofascore, Livescore, FotMob, Forza Football, OneFootball, ESPN, Betway, Scorebat, 365Scores, AiScore, BeSoccer, AzScore, FootyStats, Soccerway, Livesport, SAS Skores Media, Livescore Group, Football Media Limited, Sportlink Limited, and TNT Sports.
Through lawyer Willis Otieno, SportPesa told the court that the platforms are commercially benefiting from what it terms the misrepresentation of the league’s branding, thereby undermining its sponsorship rights.
The company also noted that many of the defendants operate from offshore jurisdictions, making enforcement difficult without court intervention.