Finding sponsors requires sound analysis

In recent years the major sponsors in our local game have tended to be the big telecommunications firms and banks. For some reason the breweries are being outclassed in the sponsorship game. Being in the midst of an economic downturn our clubs and football association will have to be a lot more insightful in order to get sponsorship. Walk-in-the-door sponsors are very unlikely in our present situation. Clubs will have to look at the sectors that are experiencing growth despite the economic downturn and target these as likely sources of sponsorship funding.

For instance one sector that we have not looked at appears rather obvious when you look at it – construction. South Africa has committed itself to an R800 billion infrastructure development programme over the next decade or so. This infrastructure development is not just about projects aimed at the 2010 World Cup.

The major part of it will roll-out well beyond this tournament so it will be quite sustainable over the medium to long-term. The 2010 is obviously the catalyst for this construction boom but it is not the end objective. This is one sector that is bullish even now so our clubs must target firms such as Murray & Roberts who have healthy order books due to the frenetic government construction taking place in Gauteng in particular.

Clubs have to be proactive and go and sell themselves to the big players in this sector. This sector is a sure bet since it deals with three main areas that have to be continuously developed – roads, water and electricity. These are basic needs without which economies cannot function and these are the sectors that have been allocated with substantial funds by the state.

We have to break our reliance of banks for sponsorship funding as they have been the biggest losers in this global downturn although ours seem to have been better insulated from the crunch. Manchester United for example knows that it cannot rely on it’s current relationship with the insurance giant AIG and has therefore been courting sponsors as far and wide as Asia. It was reported that they were exploring a relationship with Sahara of India.

This is the pro-activity that our soccer administrators need to demonstrate to avoid not having sponsors further down the road. The frenetic construction activity we are seeing now going towards 2010 is just the first phase. The 2nd and 3rd phase will start after the World Cup and are much bigger than the first phase in Rand terms.

This is one of the sectors our soccer should be looking at approaching with sponsorship proposals. Our soccer administrators can simply no longer get away from reading business journals and the business pages.