Chinese Pay Television Company StarTimes on Thursday became the official broadcast partner for the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in a seven-year deal worth 110 million shillings (about 1.1 million U.S. dollars) annually.

The new sponsorship deal will involve transmission of Betking Premier League matches, 30 Betika Super League matches and friendly matches of the Kenyan national soccer team, Harambee Stars.

"We have progressively kept our vision as StarTimes as the most affordable pay television platform that will be broadcasting the Football Kenya Federation Premier League on our BTV channel 172 on Terrestrial platform and 463 on the satellite platform," said Hanson Wang, StarTimes CEO.

He said that StarTimes is committed to a mutually beneficial cooperation with Kenya's soccer federation, teams and players to help elevate the popular sport to a new level.

The FKF President Nick Mwendwa hailed the new partnership with StarTimes, saying it will transform local football, ensure it is competitive and rewarding to budding talent.

"We have yet marked another important milestone today in Kenyan football by launching a broadcast sponsorship for the Betking Premier League which will go a long way in encouraging competition in our top leagues particularly the Betking Premier League which will go a long way in improving the standard of football and even help improve the economic incentive of the game," said Mwendwa.