Kenya Sevens players earn cash bonus for Singapore final appearance

Kenya Sevens Players were Wednesday awarded for their amazing performance at the recently ended Singapore Sevens tournament by sponsors Sportpesa.

Sportpesa, who are the official shirt sponsors for Shujaa, had promised the squad at the beginning of the year that they would reward any top-three finishes.

The structure announced in January revealed that each member of the 18-player squad is entitled to Sh100,000 for a Cup win, Sh75,000 for a runner-up finish, Sh50,000 for third place, Sh32,000 for fourth place, Sh20,000 for fifth place, and Sh15,000 for sixth place.

The Sevens boys lost to Fiji in the final 21-12, making their first appearance at the latter stages of the main cup this season following a hit-and-miss season.

Sportpesa CEO Ronald Karauri was ecstatic to host the players and urged them to complete the season on a high by keeping their place in the World Sevens Series.

Kenya will travel to Los Angeles to take part in the grand finale, which will be held May 3 and 4.

"I recall when we started this sponsorship, we looked like lone wolves ( As a company) because we were not in the HSBC Sevens Series (sic). However, we have worked with Shujaa before, and we believed in them. We are very proud of how far they have come," Karauri said at the luncheon hosted at a Nairobi hotel.

He backed the Sevens boys to go on and win a leg of the series in the not-so-distant future, having already tasted the experience of making it to a major final and missing out by a whisker.

"I know that feeling of making the finals, and that is something you never want to lose. The next step is to stand on top of the world. Nothing comes easy; we have to work hard for it," he added.

Karauri also lauded the Kenya Sevens Women's team, which will be looking to qualify for the top-tier women's sevens series after coming top of the log in the second tier this season and will also be on the plane to Los Angeles.

"Special mention to the Lionesses who have really made us proud. We wish them success in Los Angeles too and hope to see them in the HSBC Women's Sevens Series next season," he complimented.

Shujaa find themselves in the playoff for a second straight season, after finishing ninth in the World Series, and will need to go through a tough series of matches to secure their place in the top flight.

Kenya are joined by Uruguay, Ireland and the United States of America, who finished in 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th positions respectively in the World Series.

Following the final Challenger Series leg played in Krakow, Poland, winners Portugal, second-placed Germany together with Canada and Samoa are the four sides that will compete with their more senior rivals in Los Angeles.

In the 2024 playoffs, Kenya beat Samoa 19-12 in their opening game.

A 10-5 loss to Spain followed, but they bounced back to see off first Chile 36-7, which set up a qualifier final against Germany, whom they beat 33-15 to qualify for the top tier.