Safaricom has today announced a KES 1 million sponsorship towards the 2025 Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA) which will be held on 16th April at KICC.
This sponsorship embodies the company’s commitment to supporting sports and celebrating Kenyan athletes and is a platform to reward and motivate Kenyan sports personalities and organizations.
“At Safaricom we believe in the power of sport to uplift communities, transform lives, and spark national pride. We have walked this journey with SOYA from its inception 21 years ago, contributing over KES 300 million in both cash and kind. For us, supporting SOYA is our way of honouring the resilience, excellence, and determination of Kenyan athletes who continue to raise our flag on the global stage,” – Dr Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom PLC.
On his part, Dr. Paul Tergat, President National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) and Founder of SOYA also appreciated the continuous support from Safaricom in recognizing Kenya’s national heroes, saying “The unwavering support from Safaricom over the last two decades has been instrumental in shaping SOYA into the prestigious platform it is today. Since 2004, we have celebrated the triumphs of our sportsmen and women together, ensuring that their efforts do not go unnoticed.
Safaricom’s Vison Aligns with Soya Awards
This year, as we shine a spotlight on women’s excellence in sports, we are proud to do so with a partner who shares our vision.”
This year’s award is themed ‘Celebrating women’s excellence in sports’ and will see several sports personalities rewarded in 11 categories including Sports Woman of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman with a Disability, a Sportsman with Disability, Coach of the Year, Sports Team Women, Sports Team Men, Schools Girls Team, Schools Boys Team, Schools Coach of the Year and Hall of Fame Award.
Triple Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon and her ‘double’ counterpart, Beatrice Chebet, will face off for this year’s Sportsperson of the Year Awards. The two are among five nominees in this category, which also includes world marathon record holder Ruth Chepng’etich, Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri, and Olympic 3000m steeplechase bronze medalist Faith Cherotich.
In the sportsman of the year category, boxer Boniface Mugunde who earned Kenya its first African boxing title since Nick Okoth in 2017, is among the five finalists in the nominations list. Mugunde will face off against Nairobi Thunders’ basketballer Albert Odero and athletes Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Ronald Kwemoi, and Benson Kipruto.
This year’s awards will be especially exciting after Kenya topped Africa’s medals table at the 2024 Paris Olympics with four gold, two silver, and five bronze medals.
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