Africa

Active engagement with its products in order to create authenticity and improve the brand’s reputation in sport is the key driver behind nutrition company Herbalife’s sponsorship programme, Brian McKinley, senior director of corporate alliances at Herbalife, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Sasol, the South Africa-based petro-chemical group, is looking for a marketing platform which can be tailored to it its various business-to-business strands in 37 countries,. But its head of sponsorship believes that a sporting property may not necessarily present the right model for the many and various markets it does business in.

Golf’s European Senior Tour has agreed an extended three-year sponsorship agreement with Mauritius Commercial Bank to keep its season finale at Mauritius’ Constance Belle Plage course until 2017.

Multi-national law firm DLA Piper is to sponsor the South Africa men’s national hockey team for the duration of the 2014 Men’s Hockey World Cup.

Stefan Lacher, head of technology, sponsorships for technology company SAP, speaks to Sports Sponsorship Insider about the brand's work in the Extreme Sailing Series.

Pay-television broadcaster SuperSport, which operates in sub-Saharan Africa, is to sponsor the South Africa men’s national hockey team during the 2014 Men’s Hockey World Cup.

Chinese telecommunications company Huawei has agreed a one-year partnership with the Ghana Football Association.

Beer brand Carlsberg has agreed a three-year sponsorship deal with the Football Association of Malawi to back the southeast African country’s national team.

Payment systems company MasterCard is using its sports sponsorships as part of a consumer-based marketing strategy despite a lack of direct consumer operations, Ann Cairns, president, international markets for MasterCard, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Online car dealership Cheki Ghana has agreed to become an official sponsor of the Ghana Football Association under a two-year deal.

Online betting company Unibet will be the Official Betting Partner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts organisation under a two-year deal, from March 2014 to March 2016.

Global banking brand Barclays has refocused the strategy for its title sponsorship of the English Premier League this season on brand engagement rather than media delivery, according to David Wheldon, Barclays head of brand, reputation and citizenship.

A round-up of the key sponsorship deals signed around the world

Financial services institution Standard Bank Namibia has announced a three-year naming sponsorship for the Namibia Football Association’s new Super Cup competition.

South African rugby union team Golden Lions has reached a deal to make telecommunications company Vox Telecom an associate sponsor.

Beer and soft drinks manufacturer Delta Beverages has announced a three-year extension to its sponsorship of Zimbabwe’s Premier Soccer League.