Advertising, kit branding: Inside SA Tourism's nearly R1bn Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship proposal

The South African government, through the department of SA Tourism (SAT), is looking at sealing a deal worth almost R1 billion to sponsor one of England's elite soccer clubs, Tottenham Hotspur.

SA Tourism proposed a three-year deal worth £42.5 million (about R900m) starting at the beginning of the 2023/24 English Premier League season and ending at the end of the 2026/27 season.

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.

A source close to the matter told News24 that the proposal was presented and voted for at a board meeting held at 20:00 on Tuesday.

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According to the source, Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu met with Tourism SA acting CEO Themba Khumalo before the meeting.

The source said a delegation was expected to fly out on Thursday to sign off the deal.

News24 understands that the finalisation of the proposal has to be settled before the imminent Cabinet reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The documents read:

The documents also revealed that SA Tourism engaged with the club