South Africa, The Land of Sporting Opportunity
South Africa is one of Africa most vibrant counties boasting vibrant football fans and a booming sports market. The sport and leisure market in South Africa is predicted to have a revenue of 428 million USD with an annual 11.6% predicted growth until 2024.
They hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup and showed the world what they are capable of. They are also the most recent titleholder of the Rugby World Cup. The country holds a lot of potential when it comes to sporting talent across many disciplines, not just soccer. The youth in the country need help to bring their sporting careers to the next level.
Football clubs can take inspiration from the success of the local rugby structure in the country. To improve the quality of sport and athletes, the general quality or competitiveness of sport must increase. It is easier to do this at the school level. Good quality schools in the country have sporting structures where schools in the areas play against one another in various sports over a weekend. The country is divided into 9 provinces and within those provinces are districts. Kids in these districts get selected from those weekend games and trials to form their district teams. From there they get to compete against one another and that is how some of the youth athletes get picked into national teams and in the case of sport development, then get picked for rugby academies to phase into their professional teams. Research shows that Africa needs help when it comes to gaining long-term investment and maintaining its infrastructure. With these issues combined with existing smaller successful structures, there are many opportunities for a professional football club to get involved.
A simple way is to sponsor competitions where minor clubs can enter their team of various age groups to compete. This simple method can have a big positive impact because it will not only bring people together, but it gives players an opportunity to gain match practice and increase their skills. An attractive incentive can draw these minor clubs in. Whether it be a cash prize, an opportunity to gain private coaching from a Villarreal coach, or even win better training equipment for their club, there is always a way to draw people in. A prevalent issue in South Africa is that some competitions only run for one or two years which is not enough time to fully blossom into something big and impactful.
Clubs can also host annual training camps and tours around South Africa allowing amateur teams to come and train and maybe compete against each other. Outside clubs like Villarreal can start implementing their techniques and coaching methods into the country. This will also help the local population build some sort of alliance or preference for Villarreal and build a fan base here. These kinds of opportunities help build a fan base for clubs which is needed for when they when want to eventually build a physical academy.
A football club can also partner with an existing football club. The club can either become an official satellite academy or have ongoing partnerships through competitions or exchange programmes. Exchange programmes can include players and coaches. This way clubs can exchange knowledge of training and coaching, preparing athletes for a higher level of play. Offering to fund or sponsor female sides of these clubs are another opportunity to integrate your club into the existing market and show support for women in sport.
Lastly as a way of optimizing promotion and making sure that your project is successful, it is important to partner with a local agency and/or company. They will have a better understanding of the local landscape’s sporting and marketing structures. Local youth athletes, their parents, coaches and clubs will also recognize these names and clubs like Villarreal can take advantage of the trust that these companies have already established. If the right companies are chosen, Villarreal for example can just become the football division of their sports enterprises. Cell C is a major network provider in South African and is the sponsor of The Sharks, which is a rugby team from Kwa Zulu Natal. FNB (First National Bank) sponsors The Varsity Cup series which is a televised sports competition for university teams across multiple sports for men and women. MTN sponsors the national rugby team The Springboks. SuperSport which is Africa’s largest sports broadcaster has its own football academy and is also dedicated to broadcasting youth games of various sport on television to get more support and exposure for young athletes.
The main focus with a country like South Africa at the beginning should be continuous short-term integration projects. This means short projects like a two-week training example for example, over a continuous period. Like once a year, over a period of five years. They can vary in formats, but European clubs must show interest beyond one or two projects as great sporting projects take time. People want to feel that you are interested in them and their development and not just a great press release. Showing support for their communities especially when it might not directly return to you, can prevent the impression of “the brain drain” which is continuously taking out of the country leaving the country for worse. South Africa is a country filled with talent ready to be nurtured.
