NAIVASHA, Kenya, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is set to host Africa's round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in the foreseeable future, with the country's government and event promoter negotiating a fresh long-term contract to keep the Safari Rally in the global calendar.

Speaking to the WRC Safari Rally website on Saturday, Simon Larkin, the WRC Promoter GmbH Event Director, announced they had also spoken to a number of leading local companies in a bid to privatize the historic motorsport event.

The current deal between Safari Rally and the WRC ends in 2026 after the Promoter and government agreed to a one-year extension to the initial five-year contract that started in 2021.

Earlier in the day, the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Salim Mvurya, announced the government was pitching to retain the Safari Rally as part of the global circuit.

"This is something we have been working on with President William Ruto and the Cabinet Secretary for a while now. We have had a fairly long commitment up until now, and we have a contract for 2026," Larkin told the Safari Rally website.

"For sure there is no doubt about that (extension), but we have a history with Safari Rally Kenya of making sure that we have a renewal early. We see a long-term commitment here in Kenya," he added.

The Event Director revealed that discussions with Kenya to renew the contract with Safari Rally started after last year's edition, the fourth since it returned to the WRC in 2021 after a 19-year absence.

Larkin echoed President Ruto's remarks during Thursday's ceremonial flag-off of the 2025 WRC Safari Rally in Nairobi, where the Kenyan leader called for the privatization of the event.

"We think it's the best way for the event to grow. We think it's the best way for the government to try to reduce its financial burden of the event," he added.

"We think that the already existing commercial partners can be better leveraged with the right commercial structure," Larkin explained.

Beyond Kenya, Larkin highlighted that the WRC Safari Rally can be an important tool for regional integration across East Africa and beyond, something the Promoter is keen to pursue in the next contract.

"I mean it was our most-watched WRC event last year, with over 150 million viewers. We just need to make sure that the event keeps evolving and growing."

"We wanted it to have a better impact in Kenya, but we also want to have a better impact not just in Eastern Africa but in Africa as a whole. It's an opportunity that we see for Kenya to project itself in the sporting world in the region," the Event Director said. Enditem

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