SA Tourism acting CEO Themba Khumalo was unwavering when he defended a planned R1-billion marketing and sponsorship contract with English Premiership League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Speaking during a media briefing in Johannesburg on Thursday, Khumalo said the contract has not been inked, but highlighted that the government is interested.
The subject has divided the nation with some denouncing the action amid chronic power cuts, rising rates of crime and the general status of the weak economy.
The objective is to have the SA brand appearing on the sleeve of Spurs jersey, similarly to an arrangement between African nation Rwanda and Arsenal, another soccer giant in the UK.
The three-year deal, if it sees the light of day, will start from 2024 through 2027.
“The mandate of SA Tourism is to market South Africa locally and internationally and to get international travellers to visit the country,” said Khumalo.
“For the last 20 years, money has been spent on foreign soil to market the country, every single year. It’s not a new issue, therefore the version of the story that you [the media] are being presented is not true. It was leaked out of context.”
Khumalo added further: “The envisaged deal has nothing to do with football, but with accessing the aggregate audience that football brings, and to get that audience to travel to our destinations.
“The thinking that it [the proposed deal] is about supporting a certain club is misguided. We are accessing the audience to come [and] spend UK pounds and foreign dollars in our country. The money invested in tourism is not the same money required for electricity and potholes.
“But can you go and align it with all the stakeholders, including the minister [of tourism Lindiwe Sisulu], the director-general, Treasury and provinces. We were still on our way before this thing was leaked.”
He emphasized that nothing has been signed or finalized.
There is no official agreement, but there have been discussions. Exists the intent to sign? Yes. A tentative approval existed.
“No third parties are involved in this transaction. This will inject R88 million into the South African economy via international spending. It was contingent, therefore you cannot sign unless the requirements are met.
“When the scandal broke, the minister [of tourism] had not been fully briefed. The minister could not be informed prior to the board’s conclusion.
The story was already in the public domain when the meeting occurred on Tuesday evening. Therefore, the minister could not have known the details of this transaction,” Khumalo stated.
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