By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Tourism (SAT) proposed a three-year deal worth £42.5 million (about R900m) starting with English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur with hope of attracting tourists to the country.
According to the Daily Maverick story, Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is eager for the deal to be sealed before the impending Cabinet reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa moves her out of the tourism portfolio, as is expected.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sisulu’s spokesperson, Mpumzi Zuzile, said proposals were received by SA Tourism and processed by a project team before they were sent through to the executive committee and presented to the SAT board.
“Essentially, the SAT proposal is to conclude a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. It is non-binding. Such a proposal must still pass muster within the tourism ministry and is subject to the concurrence of National Treasury, to conform to government prescripts.
“With regard to this matter, Sisulu is still awaiting a report and to be briefed by the SAT board as they are independent and take their own decisions on various matters. It is mischievous to relate this to the imminent Cabinet reshuffle,” Zuzile said.
Zuzile added that Sisulu was consulting her legal team and would communicate the way forward in due course.
The presentation revealed that in exchange for the whopping investment, SA Tourism would receive kit branding, interview backdrop branding, match-day advertising, partnership announcements, training camps in South Africa, and free access to tickets and stadium hospitality.
However, it noted that a risk was raised at a board meeting on 27 January 2023, which was related to Tottenham being relegated to a lower division during the three-year agreement.
“While this is obviously unlikely, given the historic performance of Tottenham Hotspur, raising this will undoubtedly bring into consideration a possible bonus payment to be made by SA Tourism should Tottenham Hotspur perform better than expected,” the proposal read.
The documents also revealed that SA Tourism engaged with the club to be a tier-one partner of “London’s most valuable football brand and the 8th most valuable football brand worldwide”.
The documents further revealed that some board members, including South Africa’s High Commissioner in the UK, had already been to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to assess and verify the “feasibility of this proposed venture”.
It noted that the football club had strong links to SA, with Manchester United’s Benni McCarthy, Mbulelo Mabizela, Steven Pienaar, and another local, Bongani Khumalo, having donned the team’s colours.