SA soccer marketplace is open for business

There should be no fuss about Absa’s exit because the sport is a powerful brand

● The Premier Soccer League (PSL) may see more sponsors not renewing their sponsorships when the cycles come to an end.

The non-renewal will not be because of dwindling faith in the football product, but because of companies re-evaluating the return on investment in their association with the league.

Absa this week announced the end of its 16-year association with the PSL. For 13 years the bank was the primary backer of the Absa Premiership.

“While we will no longer be the anchor sponsor for the PSL, soccer will always remain close to our hearts. We are therefore exploring alternative options to continue our relationship with the PSL,” said Daniel Mminele, CEO of Absa Group.

Errol Madlala, director of Pitch Sports Media & Communications, said more sponsors could follow suit.

“Every brand makes a decision based on four anchors: whether to renew, up the ante in terms of securing more rights, reducing what they have, or getting out completely. Everyone is there because they want to get value against their business needs. If there is no more return, the board will say get out.”

A 10-month weekly engagement

Madlala says there should be no hullabaloo about the exit of Absa because football remained a powerful product for brand association.

Financial injections by way of sponsorship may not be the same as the period preceding the 2010 World Cup, but football continues to command the bulk share of the market.

“Football is still a very strong market and the PSL provides over 10 months of weekly engagement with fans and gets the biggest share of the sport market every week.

“If it is no longer important to Absa’s needs, it definitely will be in someone else’s interest to get that kind of exposure,” said Madlala.

“If it is the football market they want, it is a solid 10 months of awareness. That is important for someone who is new.

“That is how businesses would be looking at the space that has been opened by Absa’s departure.

“There are a lot of brands that still want the same and for that it costs a premium, but it gives 10 months of visibility. Many rights are expensive by nature, but title sponsorship becomes more expensive because you are the only one.

“There comes a time when it doesn’t add value for a sponsor to have their name on the brand.”

With Absa gone, the logical question is who replaces it.

“You announce when you have found one. If you’re trying to trick me to tell you what is on the table, you won’t win. In any case, go to the chairman for anything to do with sponsorship,” said a PSL official.

PSL chair Irvin Khoza could not be reached. Standard Bank and Telkom have been mentioned as potential replacements.

“Boardrooms in banking have been asking how Capitec has shaken the market and bypassed sponsorship rules,” the official said. “They’ll be looking at the inroads that Capitec has made in terms of taking market share without spending money on sponsorship of football in particular.

“They’ll have to look at their spend across the board and decide if football is still a relevant vehicle to communicate within the target market that Capitec is taking away from the big banks.

“The reality is that the growth of Capitec is a serious threat to all banks that are targeting the mass market. That is where Capitec growth came from and they have not spent one dime in football, which is the core of their market and yet they are growing.”