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

The proposed SA Tourism (SAT) sponsorship of English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur may be less rosy than the picture painted by the body, its draft agreement with the club reveals.

And the R900 million deal would only be the start of further spending on other events and activations related to the sponsorship, according to SAT’s official presentation to parliament’s tourism portfolio committee yesterday.

SAT acting CEO Themba Khumalo’s presentation stated that to not go ahead would mean SAT “will have to advise all partners and potential partners we cannot do big deals”.

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Three year partnership

The first year of the proposed three-year partnership – which would begin later this year covering the 2023-24 season and see an initial tranche of R31 million being paid to the club – will see the “Visit South Africa” sleeve logo restricted to the team’s training shirts for the first year.

And the deal specifically excludes from the first year any “training wear used for Uefa competitions, women’s teams, academy teams and any training wear sold at retail”, according to SA Tourism’s official presentation.

Despite this, in the SAT strategic business case presented to the portfolio committee by Khumalo, it was stated that the target for the first year partnership with Spurs was to produce an 8% “like for like” increase in tourism to South Africa in the first year alone, bringing more than 1.1 million tourists here.

R900 million

Only from the second year of the agreement – which will total just under R900 million at current exchange rates – will the SA Tourism logo be included on the main “Spurs’ women’s, and academy and inclusive of retail across home, away and third shirts” says the draft agreement.

The use of the logo is, at all times, subject to the stipulations of the UK Football Association, the world body Fifa and European controlling body Uefa.

The fact that the logo will not feature on “front-line” Tottenham kit in 2023-24 means that the claimed massive potential reach of the campaign may not be realised in that year.

Khumalo made much of the huge audiences available to convey the SA message. SA Tourism’s presentation states that English Premiership League has a 3.8 billion audience and fan base of 767 million in 69 markets.

The Uefa Champions League – assuming Spurs qualifies – has a total audience of 1.7 billion with a combined social following of 1.2 billion.

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Limited access to communication properties

Spurs itself has a global following of 616 million fans. Yet, the draft agreement shows what appears to be limited access to some of the club’s best communication properties.

It specifies that, in terms of customer relations marketing (CRM) database rights, SAT will get just two direct e-mail offers around key partner services to the club’s database and just two inclusions in club’s digital newsletter that is distributed monthly to the global CRM database.

SAT has its own web page on the Tottenham Hotspur site – but only in the section reserved for the club’s commercial partners.

‘Take over’

However, SA Tourism will be permitted a once-off four-page “takeover” of the club’s site to broadcast its marketing messages. SAT will also have the option of being a visible club partner on pre-season tours across the world – except to Asia, which is supposed to be a key target market for SA Tourism.

On these non-Asian tours, SAT will be able to access one “partner-specific” PR activity involving up to four members of the first team squad – but any activity will be for the account of SAT.

Costs of signage allocated to partners (up to 15%) in the case of SAT on the pre-season tours will be born by SAT, the draft agreement states.

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– brendans@citizen.co.za