De Lille gets Player of the Match award on debut

Finally, the outrageous proposed sponsorship deal between SA Tourism and English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur is off the table – and hopefully in the rubbish bin.

The deal, which would only see Tourism SA getting their name on the club’s main kit in the second year of a three-year deal – and would cost the taxpayers a whopping R900 million – was kicked to the curb by new Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille yesterday.

To be honest, we can’t see why anyone in their right mind would have even contemplated entering such an agreement when most South Africans are struggling.

ALSO READ: SA Tourism-Spurs deal ‘unlawful’, says De Lille

We doubt she even needed legal advice, as the idea to sponsor an overseas football team to the tune of almost R1 billion is preposterous, but lawyers informed De Lille the deal was “unlawful and invalid”.

One of the main issues surrounding the proposed deal was if it was formally cancelled.

Board chair Thozamile Botha said: “There is no Tottenham transaction to be cancelled, as none has been concluded.” It’s a no-brainer then. Scrap the proposed deal, and move on. That money can be far better spent than any pie-in-the-sky project.

Prior to Covid, our tourism was responsible for a large chunk of what boosted our economy. Covid certainly battered SA tourism, but to embark on a nonsensical sponsorship deal that will never justify the amount spent to bring tourists to our shores was ludicrous.

ALSO READ: Here’s why 3 key SA Tourism board members resigned en masse over Hotspur deal

It’s time we put our heads together, while keeping an eye on the bottom line, to reinvigorate our tourism industry.

It goes to show what a non-ANC minister – remember De Lille is the leader of the Good Party – can do. They don’t have to toe the party line. To De Lille, you get a Player of the Match award on debut.

To former tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu and all the misguided SA Tourism execs, your ban from your initial red card should be extended even further.

RELATED: R1 billion Spurs deal won’t even get SA onto first team kits, could cost even more