NEW PLE SPONSORS ON THE HORIZONS

MBABANE – Last kick!

The outgoing Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Executive Committee (ExCo) has not removed its foot from the pedal concerning sponsors, despite their term in office about to expire. The seven-member ExCo’s four-year term elapses at the end of the season. However, the PLE Chairperson Mark Carmichael has said they were looking to announce some new sponsors before they walked out of office.

Departure

Upon their departure, they will leave the organisation with MTN Eswatini, which sponsors the top-tier and lower division leagues, the PLE Trade Fair Cup, and the Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund (SMVAF) sponsored Ingwenyama Cup. He said there were ongoing negotiations with companies although he did not want to divulge their names.

“We have some good news, as we are working on new partnerships and engaging different companies and organisations to partner with us. Negotiating with sponsors is a daily task, and we are still busy with it. There might be one or two different companies I think we might confirm,” the Denver Sundowns boss said.

He further said some had shown interest in partnering with PLE for the next edition of the Trade Fair Cup. PLE revived this knockout competition this season and took a gamble by sponsoring it to the tune of about E1 million. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade also promised that the edition will be sponsored to the value of E3 million next season.

“Even though some may not look into sponsoring tournaments or competitions, companies have realised that football is an ideal platform to market their products and is currently the best market,” he added. Recently, the organisation unveiled Oukitel, a cellphone company, as their new partner. The mobile phone is selling at E2 500 and contributes E200 directly to the team supported by individuals who purchase it. Besides reviving the Trade Fair Cup, the outgoing executive succeeded in bringing the MTN FinTech MoMo Cup. The tournament ran for two editions before withdrawing its E2 million sponsorship.

Sponsorships

“It was really hard to stabilize sponsorships after COVID-19. Some companies came to us showing losses, while others jumped into football and quickly recovered,” the chairperson further said. He likened the negotiation of sponsorships to a relay race when asked why they were persisting on negotiating sponsorships, even when their time was up. He said even if they leave without finalising those discussions, the next ExCo would carry on from where they left off. Carmichael said it would still benefit their teams, even if they were not re-elected. Notable, is that Carmichael is the only ExCo member, who has opened up that he, will not be vying for election.

Last month, the PLE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Makhanya stated that there were currently two available slots up for grabs. Worth noting is that some critics have been also calling for more competitions. This came after the rumours that premier league teams might be increased to 16 next seasons. Notably, the Swazi Telecom Charity Cup and EswatiniBank Cups were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic still to the present day....

He further said some had shown interest in partnering with PLE for the next edition of the Trade Fair Cup. PLE revived this knockout competition this season and took a gamble by sponsoring it to the tune of about E1 million. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade also promised that the edition will be sponsored to the value of E3 million next season.

“Even though some may not look into sponsoring tournaments or competitions, companies have realised that football is an ideal platform to market their products and is currently the best market,” he added. Recently, the organisation unveiled Oukitel, a cellphone company, as their new partner. The mobile phone is selling at E2 500 and contributes E200 directly to the team supported by individuals who purchase it. Besides reviving the Trade Fair Cup, the outgoing executive succeeded in bringing the MTN FinTech MoMo Cup. The tournament ran for two editions before withdrawing its E2 million sponsorship.

Sponsorships

“It was really hard to stabilize sponsorships after COVID-19. Some companies came to us showing losses, while others jumped into football and quickly recovered,” the chairperson further said. He likened the negotiation of sponsorships to a relay race when asked why they were persisting on negotiating sponsorships, even when their time was up. He said even if they leave without finalising those discussions, the next ExCo would carry on from where they left off. Carmichael said it would still benefit their teams, even if they were not re-elected. Notable, is that Carmichael is the only ExCo member, who has opened up that he, will not be vying for election.

Last month, the PLE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Makhanya stated that there were currently two available slots up for grabs. Worth noting is that some critics have been also calling for more competitions. This came after the rumours that premier league teams might be increased to 16 next seasons. Notably, the Swazi Telecom Charity Cup and EswatiniBank Cups were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic still to the present day.

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