Primedia Sport has acquired the commercial rights to Johannesburg’s most famous football venues.

The appointed agent of Stadium Management South Africa, Primedia Sport is proud to be able to offer exciting new commercial and advertising opportunities at National Stadium South Africa (formerly known as Soccer City), Orlando Stadium and Dobsonville Stadium.

National Stadium is being newly reconstructed, in line with the significant role it will play in next year’s FIFA World Cup. It will boast a capacity of 94,700, and is widely regarded as the home of football in South Africa. Orlando Stadium is the new home ground of Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa’s best supported team, and the stadium was reopened after considerable reconstruction last year.

Dobsonville Stadium has been revamped to seat 24,000 passionate supporters. The stadium does not only host football games, it is an athletics venue as well. Dobsonville Stadium is the home ground of Moroka Swallows.

Along with Rand Stadium, Orlando Stadium and Dobsonville Stadium, both in Soweto, have been set aside as official training venues by the City of Johannesburg.

The opportunities for companies and brands to align themselves with these famous sites and reach the hundreds of thousands of spectators that they draw include:

• Stadium naming rights
• Sponsorships (partners and suppliers)
• Stadium advertising
• Suite bookings

Soccer City in construction for 2010

By getting involved, clients have the opportunity to reap the benefits of association with the sports hosted at these venues, gain substantial media exposure, and / or leverage the direct benefits of hospitality or preferred supplier status by signing up as an official supplier or partner. Continue Reading

Imagine thousands of soccer fans blowing Vuvuzela’s simultaneously for a full 30 seconds before the start of a match? 300 volunteers to help make it all possible….and a new Guinness World Record is set.

On Thursday, 23 July 2009, Vodacom will enhance its status as the voice behind the teams, when it spearheads a Guinness World Record (GWR) attempt at the Vodacom Challenge Derby, at Nelson Mandela stadium in Port Elizabeth.
At this soccer crescendo, soccer fans will make their mark in history when they are counted as the voice behind the new world record. Three minutes before kick off, fans will be signaled to blow their vuvuzelas simultaneously, for 30 seconds.

The first 20 000 fans to enter the stadium will receive a complimentary limited edition Vodacom Guinness World Record vuvuzela. Continue Reading

Kaizer Chiefs have long been hailed as South Africa’s leading club for being both the country’s most successful and most supported team.

The club has also become a rite of passage for young, great players to wear the club’s famous Kaizer Chiefs gold jersey.  For the 2009/2010 season their new home and away kits will continue to be a desired item, capable of inspiring, joyful and brilliant football both on and off-field.

In keeping the authentic football passion alive, Nike and Kaizer Chiefs officially unveiled their new 2009/2010 home and away kits on field at the revamped Orlando Stadium in Soweto – both iconic destinations considered by many to be the home of football in South Africa.

The notable changes to the new home and away kit will give the Amakhosi a bold and striking appearance to pursue even more success. Continue Reading

Orlando Pirates players can’t wait to lace up their boots for the 10th anniversary of the Vodacom Challenge against Manchester City, at the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane, on Saturday, July 18 (15h00 kickoff).

Teko Modise said: “Manchester City is a class side. We have been watching Robinho play since his days in Santos, Brazil and this talented player can do almost anything with the ball. They have other fine players too including Shaun Wright Phillips who has lots of pace. But we also have skilful players like Katlego Mashego, Benson Mhlongo and Dikgang ‘Terminator’ Mabalane.  If we are committed enough on the day, we can win.”

“Manchester City plays a fast game but so do we. As for my free kicks, I am putting a lot of extra training into them and in the new season I am going to try and get even better and hopefully become the best free kick taker in SA.”

“Ruthless” is how Katlego Mashego described his approach to the goal-scoring chances that will come his way against Manchester City.

“We probably won’t get as many goal-scoring chances against Manchester City as we would get in a local league match so we need to be ruthless in our approach to scoring, but the English club have some fine players and I am really looking forward to the challenge of playing against them,” said Mashego.

Benson Mhlongo has made the Orlando Pirates centre midfield his own since arriving from Mamelodi Sundowns at the start of the 2008/2009 season, and is eager to help his club put in a good showing against The Blues. Continue Reading

Kaizer Motaung has done very well as a soccer entrepreneur by starting and growing Kaizer Chiefs into arguably the biggest soccer brand in the country. The same applies to John Comitis who owns Ajax Cape Town.

He’s built this club into a sustainable long-term business with fantastic infrastructure. Patrice Motsepe is a mining entrepreneur who has not shown any acumen in sports despite his noble and very grand intentions.

For Patrice, Mamelodi Sundowns is like a sideshow which he is not giving the attention it needs to be really financially successful. He is just throwing money at it with very little strategy. Then there is Dieter Bock who bought Moroka Swallows and is only seen once or twice a year at the club’s prize-giving ceremonies. Continue Reading

One of the greatest legacies that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will leave is the magnificent new Soccer City Stadium that will host among other games, the opening game and the final. Like Wembley in England, this stadium will be an icon and lasting image that the world will have of the FIFA showpiece.

Inspired by African culture, this Calabash-shaped arena will have an impressive 94 000 seats, making it the biggest stadium in Africa and one of the biggest in the world. No one needs to worry about it not being ready as it is going to finish well in time for the World Cup despite the fact that it has significantly exceeded its initial budget of R1,5 billion. There is no doubt that it will be worth every cent. Continue Reading

Former Manchester City midfielder, South African-born Colin Viljoen, expects Manchester City to be a highly competitive team and good value for money to watch, when they join Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in the 10th anniversary edition of the Vodacom Challenge from 18 – 25 July.

Viljoen, who played 38 times for the English club as a midfielder from 1978-1980, as well as three times for the England international team, said: “The people from the North West of England are a friendly bunch but highly spirited when it comes to football. Mark Hughes has been manager of Manchester City for a year now and I am sure that the squad is beginning to understand his vision for the game. With players like Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Craig Bellamy and recently-signed England international midfielder Gareth Barry, I am sure that local fans will be in for a treat when the club takes on Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.” Continue Reading

The official opening of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 has silenced a lot of critics over whether or not South Africa is capable of successfully hosting an event like the World Cup. The opening ceremony presented an image of South Africa that will sell South Africa to any doubting Thomas.

Congratulations to Lebo M – he of ‘The Lion King’ fame – for putting on a truly magnificent opening show with a very uniquely African theme. The singers coming out of the hut at the centre of the pitch was an absolute winner for me with everything revolving around the ‘home’. This show could not happen anywhere else but Africa. Although it was African in look and feel it used universal devices for expression such as the beautiful mosaics that were created by the performers. Continue Reading