Home PodcastInayet Wadee Tourism Industry to invest R1bn in Sponsorship with Tottenham Hotspurs

Tourism Industry to invest R1bn in Sponsorship with Tottenham Hotspurs

by Thaabit Kamaar
Photo by [BBC]


The Daily Maverick reported that the Department of Tourism, together with SA Tourism, was close to penning a sponsorship deal with English Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur, approximating to R1 billion.

SA Tourism will receive media exposure, at approximately R6 billion in return on the investment. The report specifies a three-year deal which includes stadium branding, advertisement, a two-week training camp with the first team and access to free tickets and hospitality.

However, Tebogo Khaas, Chairperson of Public Interest South Africa said he could not help but be cynical as the deal smells of corruption. “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.”

What Value Does the Deal Have

Besides media exposure and advertisement opportunities, Khaas questions the value such a deal would bring the country. And until the deal’s value is made clear to the public, it will continue to be shrouded with suspicion.

“If you take a billion rand and invest it in something, you expect more than a billion rand. If they can demonstrate [the] beneficial use, the one billion rands will be put to, by investing it in Tottenham Hotspurs kit. Maybe we can start having a conversation. But as it is, nobody has actually come back and said this is … [The] value of this investment, and this is how we’re going to guarantee such. [However] there will be no guarantee, as most people are already suspecting … Somebody is in for a hefty payout.”

He adds instead of investing big money into a football club. It can be used in cleaning up the beaches in KZN and repairing infrastructure and businesses in the Tourism sector affected by the lockdown.

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The Timing of the Deal

Reports suggest Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is eager to see the deal through before President Ramaphosa reshuffles his cabinet. However, in a statement released by the Ministry of Tourism, Steve Motale said this claim “is a blatant lie”.

Khaas said recently, we have seen high-ranking officials benefitting from deals they have approved. In this instance, perhaps the Minister is not fast-tracking the deal. Still, there might be people around her who are, people who are set to gain so long as she remains at the helm of the ministry.

Countries making sponsorship deals with prestigious European Football clubs have been around for a while. The agreement is likened to Rwanda’s one with Tottenham’s London rivals, Arsenal.

However, he said we should not equate ourselves with countries like Rwanda as they are in a different form in terms of their attitude and levels of corruption. Even though the details of the deal are not precise yet, he adds that one thing he does know is the opportunistic tendencies of our executives.

“They are not averse to immersing themselves in deals that lend themselves to being corrupt and or corruptible themselves. So we cannot rule that out. The Minister, wherever she’s been, whether it’s in housing, military defence and all that, there has been a cloud hanging over her presence wherever she is. Something bad is cooking. We have to be vigilant and implore the President and Treasury to stop this transaction from happening.”

Watch the full discussion here.






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