Absa extends backing of Premier Soccer League

Financial services company Absa has extended a title sponsorship agreement with South Africa’s Premier Soccer League for the top-tier Premiership competition.

Under the five-year agreement, the league will continue to be known as the Absa Premiership until the end of the 2021-22 season. Absa has sponsored the Premiership for the past 10 years.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the Kickoff sports news website said the deal would be worth ZAR500m (€32m/$38m) over the course of five years.

PSL chairman Irvin Khoza said: “As we continue with the sponsorship, we do know that for this partnership to remain impactful, it cannot be business as usual; we have to continuously innovate to remain relevant. We are therefore excited about some of the innovations coming up in the 2017-18 season including the ‘Absa Premiership Rivalry weekends’.”

In other news, Premiership team Cape Town City has named African online sports betting company SportPesa as its new shirt sponsor.

The two parties have signed a four-year deal and the partnership marks SportPesa’s first move into the South African football market.

SportPesa is the shirt sponsor of English Premier League club Everton and also holds partnerships with Arsenal and Southampton, as well as LaLiga, which operates the top two divisions of Spanish football.

In Africa, SportPesa also holds partnerships with Tanzanian clubs Simba and Young Africans‚ Nairobi outfit Gor Mahia‚ AC Leopards in Congo-Brazzaville and the Kenyan Premier League.