The Springboks will have a new sponsor in 2011 following a decision by Sasol not to extend their current arrangement beyond its expiry at the end of this year.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) and Sasol made a joint announcement on Tuesday after Sasol decided not to take up their option on a revised valuation proposed by SARU. SARU will now begin discussions with other potential sponsors.
“Sasol have been the main Springbok sponsors for the past six years and we have both taken huge value out of the relationship, and not just in financial terms,” said Oregan Hoskins, president of the South African Rugby Union.
“We’re sorry to be losing them but we understand their reasons and we’re now looking forward to forging a new relationship between the Springboks, South African rugby and another leading brand.”
Sasol entered into a six-year R150m deal with SARU at the end of 2004 to cover the Springboks, Springbok Sevens, SA ‘A’ and SA Under-20 teams.
“We’re very proud of our association with the Springboks and had certainly hoped our significantly increased offer would have found traction with the union”, said Sasol senior group executive, Lean Strauss.
“In the course of our association with the Springboks, we have seen the game extend across racial and cultural barriers. It has promoted nation building, united our staff around the world and has strengthened our brand both locally and abroad.”
During Sasol’s sponsorship the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup, Vodacom Tri-Nations and a series against the British & Irish Lions. The Springbok Sevens team also claimed the IRB World Series.
Interest in rugby continued to increase during their sponsorship with figures released in BMI’s Adult Sporttrack Report at the end of 2009 showing that rugby continued to outpace both soccer and cricket in terms of growing interest for a fifth year running.
SARU expects to announce the identity a new sponsor in due course
SARU
Tweet
Alrighty then! As long as its not something ridiculous like Barloworld Toyota or Auto and General! 😈
What was ‘Sasol’ anyway ? 😕
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 2) :
South
African
Synthetic
OiL Corporation
@wpw (Comment 1) :
20 largest Companies in RSA at the moment.
SABMiller plc,
Sasol,
Sanlam Ltd.,
Metro Cash and Carry Ltd,
FirstRand Ltd,
Smith CG,
ABSA Group,
Sappi,
Standard Bank of South Africa,
Barloworld Ltd.,
Telkom SA,
Pepkor,
Nedcor,
Premier Group Ltd.,
Anglovaal Mining,
DiData (Dimension Data Holdings Ltd),
Anglogold Ashanti Ltd,
Iscor Ltd.,
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd,
Not to many in there who are renowned for sport sponsorship.
Discovery is a possible name that springs to my mind.
They have been doing quite a bit on the rugby front for some time.
Pepkor 😯
Sabmiller ,erm they were there during rudolphs reign
Well now for me is bad news so if the Boks were wining they would still be the main sponsors 😕
Hey what about MR Price eeeee 🙄
“We’re very proud of our association with the Springboks and had certainly hoped our significantly increased offer would have found traction with the union”
Pretty scary stuff if Sasol can’t afford to sponsor them. What happens if nobody else offers *significantly more*? Will they go back to Sasol with caps in hand? Could be interesting 😉
@Scooby55 (Comment 9) : they probably were advised that their brand is worth more now than what sasol was offering.
It will be SAB I secon
@KSA Shark © (Comment 4) : Isn’t Iscor called Mittal now?
interesting considering how much exposure they would get with world cup coming
sasol is currently paying big fines for price fixing, this has probably hampered their funds.
@Jarson (Comment 12) : I think devided between Mittal Steel, Exxaro and Kumba Iron Ore something like that.
@Jarson (Comment 12) :
Those companies are as they are listed on the top 500 companies in SA list