PSL ‘will not struggle to replace Absa’
Sports brand expert certain the ‘property’ will easily find a sponsor
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) will not struggle to find a new sponsor and will probably at least match the value of the previous deal it had with Absa, which the bank has decided not to renew when it runs out.
“I have no doubt that this property will move very quickly, and we will see a new sponsor or new group of sponsors in the near future,” says Kelvin Watt, Africa and Asia MD of Nielsen Sport, one of the world’s bestknown brand sponsorship consultants.
Soccer is the biggest sport in the world, attracting billions of dollars in sponsorship from broadcasters and advertisers.
Rights to soccer screenings have been behind the growth of subscriber-based broadcasters, including MultiChoice, which screens games across the continent via DStv.
It is still unclear how Covid-19 and the absence of fans in stadiums will affect sponsors’ perceptions of the product’s value.
“This is one property that has continued to grow ahead of the market,” Watt said.
“Its following both on SuperSport and SABC is immense, and it’s one of the main reasons MultiChoice has been able to grow numbers of its compact subscribers.”
Absa said it had decided to terminate its R140m-a-season sponsorship of the PSL, bringing to an end a 13-year relationship.
“We have enjoyed a long, fruitful relationship with the PSL,” said Absa Group CEO Daniel Mminele.
“We have supported the PSL’s work in SA football and sports development.”
Saturday Dispatch has learnt that a decision by the bank’s executive committee was made at the beginning of the current PSL season, in August 2019, but the committee wanted the decision reviewed by then-incoming boss Mminele.
Both parties have now confirmed that the contract will not be renewed when the league concludes after the coronavirus-delayed season resumes.
Insiders have said, however, that Absa could sponsor one of the PSL’s top-flight cup competitions, and that the two parties are also in talks about the bank coming on board as the official financial services provider.
PSL chair Irvin Khoza said the league is grateful to Absa “for strengthening the league to true professionalism”.
He said the Absa premiership “will forever be a reference point for football glory, both in terms of club development and player performance in our sports history”.
The termination follows Standard Bank’s decision in January not to renew its sponsorship of the Proteas when the contract came to an end earlier in 2020.
Unlike Absa’s decision, Standard Bank decided to terminate its estimated R100m-ayear commitment based on the damage done to its brand due to a number of controversies and corporate governance failures at the beleaguered administrator, Cricket SA.
The PSL is regarded as one of the largest sponsorships in the country next to that of the Springboks, the Proteas and the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
The 16-club competition, which sees each team playing its opponents twice a season, is broadcast throughout Africa on DStv, making the league sponsorship attractive for companies that want to grow their brand on the continent.
The group’s presence in the rest of Africa is a fundamental pillar of its post-Barclays strategy.
Absa combined its African operations with that of its parent company, Barclays, in an R18bn deal announced in 2012. After the separation from its former parent in 2017, Absa began rebranding the Barclays banking units on the continent.
The group will continue its other commitments in Africa, which include the Mozambique marathon, Absa Kenya Open (golf ), Zambia marathon and Absa Cup (football).