The Premier Soccer League (PSL) and new headline sponsor Betway on Wednesday announced the “biggest single investment” in South African sports history.
Taking over from DStv, who signed a five-year-deal as title sponsor in 2020, Betway inked a three-year contract with the PSL totalling R900m.
Betway Africa’s Laurence Michel explains: “This partnership is the single biggest investment in SA sport…
We're super proud of how it's brought people together and made a difference in our country.
— Betway ZA (@Betway_za) July 24, 2024
Football is life in South Africa - it's in our DNA! #BetwayPrem #Betway #Heritage pic.twitter.com/JJ0RnVoigc
“[In] football we now have the Betway Premiership, in cricket we have the Betway SA20, horse racing the Betway Summer Cup and in rugby we’re a proud sponsor of the Springboks...”
PSL chairman Irvin Khoza, meanwhile, says they won’t impose any penalties on DStv after pulling out of their deal prematurely.
Khoza also had to field questions about having a betting company as his main sponsor.
Asked about issues the PSL had back in 2018 with betting company SportPesa sponsoring Cape Town City and what has changed since then, Khoza says: “That’s why I’m saying this country is a country of grievances and we don’t tell the truth.
“I can not talk about my teams, we’ve got teams like Kaizer Chiefs, Golden Arrows, Stellenbosch, Orlando Pirates who are sponsored by a betting company.
“Football is an industry of rules, if you follow the rules and you comply with the rules and if we all agreed. SportPesa was a really unfortunate experience because of the moratorium on everybody and they tried to go against the rules.”
The new PSL season kicks off on August 3.