What Took You So Long?

The Sponsorship Scandal in South Africa
by Nick van der Leek

The lack of sport sponsorships in South Africa is scandalous.

Roland Schoeman has for some years now been the fastest swimmer in the world, and yet in his own country, he has struggled to be sponsored with as much as a cellphone. How is it possible that the top ranked swimmer in the world fails to receive recognition or support in this country? And Roland Schoeman is not the only elite athlete to have found himself begging for support from corporate South Africa.

Ryk Neethling, until fairly recently was in the same boat. Ryk is currently riding a wave of celebrity, trading in equal portions on good looks and athletic prowess. But it does beg the question – are we so shallow, the corporate denizens of this country, that we prefer looks to actual talent. That talent is nice to know, but looks are all important. I’m not suggesting that Ryk doesn’t deserve all of his endorsements – I’m demanding that they come sooner to promising athletes.

It is a shame that, for Roland Schoeman, it took a multimillion dollar offer from a Middle Eastern country to start what cannot really be called a bidding war, but led to a fractional counteroffer from here. It is a huge credit to Schoeman that he chose loyalty to his countrymen, over money, something our corporate Coelacanths can learn from. And it beamed a spotlight on the glaring and grotesque attitude to sport in South Africa.

Countless stars have invested their courage and efforts in sport, and many, despite lack of funds, have become stars in their categories. Raynard Tissink is triathlon’s version of Ryk and Roland. It wasn’t until he secured sponsorship from the likes of Timex and Virgin Active that he could breathe a little easier, knowing he could support his family through his racing efforts. Tissink has won the Ironman race on 4 continents (at last count), and has finished the world championship in the top 10. Yet the media coverage remains obsessively focused on rugby and cricket stars, recycling the same faces in the same Vodacomised advertising slots.

David George is another example. A top cyclist (3rd in this year’s Giro) has struggled for months to find a sponsor. It seems as if Nedbank finally took up the baton. What took you so long?

Corporate South Africa’s attitude to sponsorship is all wrong. Sponsorship should not start at the top and trickle down. It needs to support the young enthusiasts, athletes who simply perform well and set examples to their local communities. Pick ‘n Pay to some extent does this, in community outreach programs, like the recent cricket games on Robben Island, with support from Vincent van der Bijl among others. It’s a start, but it’s not quite what the doctor ordered. Yes, there are disadvantaged athletes. Yes, help them. Sponsorship is altogether different. It means supporting performing sportspeople in all communities.

Francois Vorster is a local triathlete who has just left South Africa to work in France. He has qualified for this year’s ITU World Triathlon Championships. He’s lucky, because the race is just next door, in Switzertand. But in previous years he had to find money to get himself to Mexico, Ohio, Australia and Hawaii. It’s a credit to his passion, endurance and financial wit that he’s been able to pursue his sport at all. He’s worked as a teacher and been involved in the local church. He’s not a corporate rich kid with an expensive hobby. And for him, 2006 is just another year without a sponsor.

Francois is just one example of how South Africa allows its talent to slip away. And why does it happen? What is going on in the corporate alleys of Nike, Oakley, Powerade and Puma? In South Africa, the salary of the man in charge of Oakley South Africa, for example, is determined by the amount of eyewear he can sell, in other words, he gets a cut from the profit total. It’s the head of Oakley South Africa then, who decides, that he’d rather cut all extraneous expenses, like sponsorships, so that his cut is so much greater. Even the local Oakley rep doesn’t have as much as a sticker on his car to promote the Oakley brand here. It’s bizarre. One man benefits, when really, a company like Oakley is all about sport, all about being cool. I don’t think selfishness represents Oakley or sport, or how these companies ought to expect investment from athletes, when they don’t invest in our best.

A friend of mine has recently returned from living in America for a few years. He is not as good a triathlete as Francois, but he’s not bad. Yet in America, he was sponsored with a bike from Cannondale, and Cannondale gear, a wetsuit from Orca, from Nike: raingear, shoes, (a different pair each month); and boxes of glasses from Oakley. He says Oakley sent him over 40 pairs of glasses. See, Oakley is not the problem. It’s the corporate guys in South Africa that want another holiday in Bali. My friend isn’t an elite athlete, but he’s motivated. He wasn’t sponsored with money, but with training gear, to the value of perhaps R50 000.

The Olympics are approaching again in 2008, and after that, it’s the soccer world cup. Once again, will we simply expect our athletes to train hard and win medals, while in places like Australia, whole school systems are designed around sport, and in America, the best cyclists fly around in private jets because their efforts are recognized and remunerated.

The point of sponsorship is to support athletes. It’s not happening in South Africa. In case the message hasn’t come through, here it is again: Sponsorship is not happening in South Africa. It’s a disgrace. While the head of Oakley in our country sees sponsorship as an expense that will effect his salary, I see it as an investment. Local sponsorships do a great deal to motivate not only the sponsored athlete, but the guys that are coming up. And the community responds too. We see which company’s care, and that speaks volumes. In time there is a long term return on the investment. The community begins to embrace the brand.
Sponsorship is about empowering people to do their best. Sponsoring sport means empowering people involved in sport to do their best. So why isn’t it happening? What’s going on beyond Standard Bank for cricket, and Vodacom for rugby?

It’s time to reward them for their best, for their tireless efforts. The real athlete will train and race whether he is sponsored or not. He’ll train until he’s used up all his luck, finished all his reserves. Because it’s about passion. Where then, is the passion in the Corporations here, in South Africa that feed off the power and inspiration of athletes and sport? Or is theirs just a passion for money? A corporate condition called greed, and always putting number one first. That’s been the trend so far, guys, and it’s not a very sporting gesture.