Times Of Swaziland: PLE CALLS FOR UNITY TO LURE SPONSORS

PLE CALLS FOR UNITY TO LURE SPONSORS
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Nimrod Hlophe on 04/02/2024 15:59:00


MBABANE – In an effort to lure sponsors, the Premier of Eswatini (PLE) has
urged teams to assist in collecting data from their supporters.
The PLE Chairperson Mark Carmichael said the exact fan database was key in the
negotiating table with potential sponsors. The Denver Sundowns’ boss said the
organisation would then sum together the teams’ fan base into dependable
figures that could be used. “May I urge the teams that for this organisation
to get more sponsorship, we urge the teams to work with us, we need a
consolidated database that we’d be able to present on the negotiating table
with sponsors. This will be a clear indication to sponsors that will be willing
to partner with us as it shows that we have a huge following,” the chairman
said.
He said sponsors wanted common sense which was business sense. He said the
organisation needed co-operation from all stakeholders to sustain sponsorships
as the organisation belonged to all clubs. One of the ways, he highlighted was
for teams to register and share their fan database with the organisations. The
MoMo Cup, which withdrew its sponsorship just after two seasons, was aimed for
teams and PLE to collect and know their fan database. “It is difficult to
negotiate and convince sponsors to invest their money into the sport without
giving them confidence on the return of their investment,” he said.
This was contained in the chairperson opening remarks in the recent PLE Football
Indaba. The Indaba was aimed at looking at possible ways to sustain clubs and
the organisation. The PLE currently has two competition sponsors. These are
league sponsors MTN Eswatini and Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund
(SMVAF) responsible for the knockout competition, Ingwenyama Cup. The PLE had a
self-sponsored tournament in the 2023 Trade Fair Cup. Another knockout
competition, EswatiniBank Cup, is yet to make a comeback just after a three-year
hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, some teams took a giant leap in
attracting sponsors. Premier league sides Ezulwini United and Nsingizini
Hotspurs each unveiled E650 000 and E1.5 million sponsorships respectively.