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NewsDay

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Football needs more sponsorship

Comment & Analysis
Last week we reported that BancABC had increased the winners’ cheque for the Super8 to $120 000 for this year’s edition, giving the Premier Soccer League administration yet another vote of confidence. The losing finalists will get $60 000, just $10 000 less than what Dynamos pocketed last season when they won the league title. […]

Last week we reported that BancABC had increased the winners’ cheque for the Super8 to $120 000 for this year’s edition, giving the Premier Soccer League administration yet another vote of confidence. The losing finalists will get $60 000, just $10 000 less than what Dynamos pocketed last season when they won the league title.

Apart from the prize money for the teams, the BancABC sponsorship deal includes kit, accommodation, transport and individual player awards for man-of-the-match, player of the tournament, top goal scorer and most disciplined team. Such a gesture is welcome for the teams in the league and there is no doubt competition will be heightened because this is just for three games. We hope Mbada Diamonds Cup, the richest knockout competition in the land, will cheer things up by increasing their sponsorship from $1 million to $3 million!

Mbada are new in this business and after last year’s inaugural edition they must have learnt that prize money for the winning team must be more than what is spent on administering the same competition.

That brings us to Delta Beverages — the league’s sponsors through their Castle Lager brand. After a spell on the sidelines, they returned last season with $680 000 which saw the league winners taking home $70 000.

This is not enough, simply put. The mileage that Delta derives from this game far outweighs what is available to the clubs at the end of the season. Fine, we understand the dynamics of world football sponsorship that clubs make their own money through various advertising streams, endorsements, stadium naming rights, touchline advertising and television rights. That only happens in normal economies where the league is fully professional and backed by established corporate institutions that have strong community-related programmes and derive high tax rebates from sponsorships. Our economy does not have that capacity and we only appeal to Delta to revise their figures in the 2012 season. They have been quiet seven games into the season; maybe they are planning a welcome bombshell!

Television rights are not available in Zimbabwe — we all know the story of sorry ZBC. The SuperSport deal is still in limbo, touchline advertising is bringing in little and municipals and the security are ripping off the clubs from the little they get from gate takings.

Our neighbours in the Absa Premiership in South Africa are laughing all the way to the bank even when the fans stay at home. Players share 50% of cup and league winnings while at cash-rich Mamelodi Sundowns players get everything. In fact, Sundowns players will pocket R500 000 each for winning the league and cup double.

There is no doubt we need Delta and we need them now to show even more commitment to the game.

A look at their recent published accounts makes good reading: “Delta Corporation’s profits surged 38% to $75,2 million for the full year ended March 31, underpinned by growth in volumes and product availability. Total beverages volumes grew by 19%, attributable to solid demand of all beverage products. Revenue for the group increased 36% to $554,8 million from $408 million in the previous year.”

Need we say more? It is, therefore, our greatest hope that as we welcome new group chief executive Pearson Gowero on June 1, he will look more favourably into the cheer that Castle Lager is known for and do more for the game.