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Cricket South Africa has lost another vital sponsorship. (Photo: Adobestock)
Cricket South Africa took another hit Tuesday when One-Day International sponsor Momentum walked away from that aspect of the sport.
More than nine months after financial services giant Momentum issued an ultimatum to Cricket South Africa (CSA) to solve its governance problems, the company finally said it would walk away.
In a statement released Tuesday, the company said it would not seek to renew its endorsement of Protea’s men. One day international (ODI), the one-day franchise competition, national club championships, school weeks at the U-13, U-15 and U-17 levels, and development projects when the contract expires at the end of April 2021. Daily maverick understand that the package is worth 20 million rand annually.
CSA is on the verge of entering administration under the umbrella of the sports body the South African Sports Confederation and the Olympic Committee (Sascoc). Nor has he been able to maintain his Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for September 5 due to the consequences of an independent forensic audit on the state of the organization. The details of the forensic audit have not been made public.
CSA has already lost R80 million from Standard Bank a year of sponsorship, which came after former CEO Thabang Moroe revoked the accreditation of journalists critical of the organization.
Momentum issued a public warning to CSA in December 2019 saying it would reconsider its sponsorship position if governance did not improve. After nine painful months, it became apparent that, if anything, problems had worsened at the boardroom level, leaving Momentum in a difficult position. His solution was to partially sever ties by not seeking to renew most of his patronage.
But Momentum agreed to continue its support of the ever-improving Proteas women’s team that reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in 2020. Momentum has sponsored the women’s program for the past seven years and Daily maverick understands that it was an issue that weighed heavily on company executives as they struggled with their CSA issue.
Due to the negative press CSA has endured for more than a year, and particularly since Moroe was initially suspended last December, Momentum has wanted to disassociate its name from the negativity surrounding CSA. But leaving completely would have been an almost certain death sentence for women’s football.
As it stands, the corporation has decided to remove its name and livery from the men’s ODI team, which is CSA’s flagship team and which generates 80% of revenue through broadcast rights and endorsements.
“Our eight-year association as a sponsor of cricket in South Africa has been very rewarding for our brand. We have had some really great entries, considering we were involved in various platforms such as development cricket, school cricket, club cricket, national and international cricket, ”said Carel Bosman, Momentum’s director of sponsorships.
“Our support and contribution to cricket is a positive story that we are proud of.”
Momentum said they weren’t satisfied with the situation at CSA regarding governance and other reputational issues.
“We will continue our dialogue with CSA to hold them accountable for doing the right thing,” Bosman said. “We all want to see a governing body that is managed professionally and ethically, and that considers all stakeholders (in) the game.”
Momentum has supported the women’s team since 2013 and will continue to do so until the contract expires in April 2023. Prior to Momentum’s involvement in women’s cricket, none of the players had professional contracts with CSA.
Now there are 14 hired female players, as well as a full-time management, support and training team.
“We have been extraordinarily proud of our role in supporting the advancement of the women’s team and we remain committed to that sponsorship deal.
“Our continued support for Momentum Proteas is in line with our brand narrative and we will continue to shine a light on their talent, build their business value and enable them on their journey to success.”
Another big hit
Momentum’s hit comes as CSA has failed to find a replacement for Standard Bank and is still faces a deficit of R654 million by 2022. Daily maverick He also learned that broadcaster SuperSport is unlikely to renew an agreement, further compounding the problems.
Sascoc’s decision to take over the management of CSA has been rejected by the board and the Council of Members, which is the highest decision-making authority and the ship that appoints the board of directors.
Sascoc’s decision to intervene was emphatic, as he asked senior management to step aside and work with a task force to be established, as well as to reveal the findings contained in the forensic audit. However, the committed members of the CSA board of directors struggle to hold on to power, raising only suspicions that the content of the forensic audit is explosive and contains damaging information about some or all of the executive.
CSA issued a defiant statement hours after Sascoc’s decision and then met to hold a “workshop” to resolve its issues that nine months of board meetings have failed to address.
Following a forestry council Last weekend, CSA, as usual, issued a vague statement, so confused in the details it was like reading it through smog while standing next to a raging wildfire.
“Issues related, among others, to failures in governance, financial controls, use of intervention rights, media accreditation and transactions carried out by CSA were discussed, and a plan was presented and adopted to take measures to implement the recommendations and act against relevant parties, ”the statement said.
“In addition, the Council of Members, the independent members of the Audit and Risk Committee, and CSA’s legal counsel reflected on the root causes of the identified issues and committed to addressing them to prevent their recurrence.
“The Council of Members agreed on the key principles of actions to improve the governance structure and the functions and responsibilities of the Council of Members, the Board of Directors and the Executive Directorate of CSA. The Council of Members resolved to hold the Board responsible for the implementation of the agreed steps, with a directive to address priority and material issues, before the AGM CSA 2020 ”.
Many words, but no real details or transparency. Not surprisingly, Momentum declared its entries with CSA. DM
