African Sports Monthly Mar, 2015 | Page 26

The English Premier League’s signs a Record TV Deal: The Premier League announced a 70 percent rise in its new British television rights deal set to kick off in 2016 and run till 2019. The deal will see broadcast rights holders pay a staggering £5.1 billion ($7 billion). This represents yet another milestone as the world’s most lucrative football league. Safaricom Withdraws Million Dollar Investment from Kenya's Sports Sector: A perceived lack of accountability and a failure to keep up with best practices appears to have caught up with Kenyan sports administrators as one of the key players in the field of sports investment and sponsorship; Safaricom, announced the withdrawal and termination of their lucrative sponsorship deals from three different sports federations in Kenya. The three federations affected by the pulling of sponsorship are the athletics, rugby and, crucially, football federations. Ivorian Goalkeeper Boubacar ‘Copa’ Barry who scored the last penalty shot that won the 2015 ACON Trophy for the Elephants of the Ivory Coast against the Black Stars of Ghana has retired from International Football three weeks removed from the continental showcase The Power Horse Beach Soccer African Trophy Durban 2015 takes place from the 6th to the 8th March 2015.South Africa the host country will mix it up with Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, and Seychelles. The tournament which is one of very few Beach Soccer competitions across the African continent bodes well for a type of football competition system that could thrive and become a staple for many African nations that have great beaches.