Mark Gleeson
31 July 2007
Gaborone, Botswana — SABMiller are to end their 11-year sponsorship of the Cosafa Castle Cup football tournament, said the brewing giant yesterday .
The decision throws into jeopardy the annual southern African championship, which had enjoyed enormous popularity around the region but failed to gain any foothold in SA.
Although SABMiller and the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) never disclosed terms of the sponsorship, it is estimated SAB spent R200m on the event in the past decade.
Besides prize money for the competing national associations, the brewers also picked up travel and hotel costs and allowed home association to keep the gate takings.
The competition, which started in 1997, pitted the 13 Cosafa members against each other, initially in a knockout tournament spanning most of the calendar. Later, because of rising costs and more countries taking part, it became a series of mini tournaments.
The latest was held in Botswana at the weekend. T he home nation, ranked outside the world's top 100, upset Angola -- finalists at last year's World Cup -- in a penalty shootout in the deciding game on Sunday.
"The South African Breweries today announced they have declined the offer to renew their sponsorship of the annual Southern African Championship with the Council of Southern Africa Football Association," said a brief statement from the breweries' international division, whose budget provided the sponsorship .
Cosafa president Suketu Patel said his organisation hoped to find a new sponsor and keep the annual event, although the format was still to be decided before taking the product to the marketplace. "We hope to obtain clarity later this week and we'll make the draw for this year's Cosafa Castle Cup semifinal on August 16 in Johannesburg."
Patel said Cosafa would announce a new sponsor next month for their under-20 event in Mpumalanga in December. They will also revive the under-17 and women's tournaments.
Old Mutual could become sponsors of the under-17 event in Namibia, said officials.
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