Tanzanian billionaire Said Bakhresa signs football mega-deal; Azam Media CEO eyes World Cup

Tanzanian billionaire Said Bakhresa’s Azam Media has signed a Ksh 10.48-billion ($97.44 million) television rights sponsorship deal with the Tanzania Football Federation’s Mainland Tanzania Premier League.

The 10-year agreement is set to start next season. Sixty-seven percent of the amount will be earmarked for seasonal payments to teams in the league, Mozzart Sport reported.

The total sponsorship amount for the 2021-2022 season will be Ksh560 million ($5.21 million). Two-thirds of this sum will go directly to the clubs, while the remaining figure will be channeled to football development in the country. Each club will receive approximately Ksh 23 million ($213.854) per season.

The total sponsorship amount for the 2022-2023 season will be Ksh 610 million ($5.67 million). Of this amount, teams will receive a total of Ksh 410 million ($3.81 million).

In a statement, Azam Media CEO Tido Mhando said: “We would like to see positive development of football in Tanzania and in the period of 10 years, we would like to see Tanzania competing in the World Cup.”

The league champions will also be rewarded. Over three seasons, the winning team will take home Ksh 23 million. In turn, the second-place team will take home Ksh 11.5 million. Meanwhile, the third- and fourth-place teams will receive Ksh10 million and Ksh9 million, respectively. The amounts will increase in the future.

Azam Media

Azam Media is a media group providing affordable television entertainment to families in Sub-Saharan Africa. Bakhresa founded the company in 2013 in Dar Es Salaam.

The company has made significant investments in premier football leagues in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

Bakhresa is the billionaire chairman of Bakhresa Group, one of Tanzania’s largest industrial conglomerates. The group is engaged in agribusiness, beverages, logistics, media, oil trading, recycling and packaging.

Forbes has estimated his net worth at $600 million.