Spurs miss out on sponsorship deal worth £42.5m
Spurs miss out on £42.5m sponsorship deal from South African Tourism
The £42.5m sponsorship deal, which Tottenham Hotspurs earlier agreed with South Africa Tourism is now off the charts.
Last week, a report from South Africa was circulated that said that a potential three-year deal was about to be closed and sealed. The only thing needed to get the deal over the line was a signature from the government’s tourism committee.
Chief Executive officer for South African Tourism, Themba Khumalo insisted that the sponsorship relates to its image in the United Kingdom and not just a regular football sponsorship deal.
WHAT DID THEY SAY?
Khumalo said, “The money that is invested in tourism isn’t money that’s required for other needs in the country. There are departments that are dedicated to that.”
“Ours is to spend money to persuade travelers to come to South Africa to spend money. That is what we’re legislated to do. Sport and entertainment are audience aggregators, so people will pay money to have you access their product.”
“Our deal has nothing to do with football because ours is to access the viewers who watch the football to become part of the traveling market to South Africa.”
“We are accessing the audience in the English Premier League so that they can come to South Africa to spend money here through tourism. This deal is not isolated from other deals that we have in place because it’s not about football, it’s about audiences.”
Nevertheless, the sponsorship deal is now off.
Committee chairperson Thandi Mahambehlala continued: “This deal, it ends here, today, now. Because there is everything wrong with the deal itself. There must be an investigation on this matter with immediate effect.”
Read More:
