Are you willing to sponsor?
Are you ready to explore the transformative power of athlete sponsorship for your brand? Click here to learn more about how sponsorship can help brands grow and thrive in the exciting world of motorsports.
Sports sponsorship in Africa 2: the international brands supporting African sports
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted May 8, 2019 | In MotoGP, Sport Sponsorship
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted May 8, 2019 | In MotoGP, Sport Sponsorship
Sports sponsorship in Africa 2: the international brands supporting African sports
For sports sponsorship in Africa, there is a huge scope – from supporting emerging sports, to youth projects and academies, to local teams or national championships. Sports sponsorship in Africa and sport sponsorship in South Africa have a wide remit, and it’s something that brands as diverse as oil conglomerates and European energy drinks companies are wising up to.
Read on to find out more about the international companies that are investing in sports sponsorship in Africa…
Total x Africa Cup of Nations
2017 saw oil giant Total sign up for title sponsorship of the Africa Cup of Nations, joining big names such as Samsung, Canon, Nissan, Adidas, PepsiCo, Puma and Standard Bank in their support of the African football competition. The Total Africa Cup of Nations will be named as such until 2024, with the possibility to extend further if successful.
Jungle Energy Drink x Ashanti Gold SC
In an announcement made in March, German energy drink Jungle is set to become the official drinks sponsor of top-flight Ghanaian Premier League team Ashanti Gold SC. Jungle joins BetWay and a number of other African companies in supporting Ghana’s most successful football team.
Airtel x FUFA
Indian telecommunications multinational Airtel, which has a huge presence across multiple African countries, has traditionally been highly invested in supporting youth sport across the continent. This includes academies and the Airtel Rising Stars competition, which has taken place in countries including Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria.
In terms of sports sponsorship in Africa, Airtel is responsible for the largest sports sponsorship deal in Ugandan history with its partnership with football governing body FUFA. Announced in 2017, the deal is reportedly worth $2.75 million.
The Volkswagen Motorsport Academy
When it comes to sport sponsorship in south Africa, motorsport might not be the first sport that springs to mind. However, even if other sports might appear more obvious contenders – cricket, rugby and of course football, to name just three – German automaker Volkswagen is investing in the future of motorsports on the continent.
February 2019 saw the announcement of the Volkswagen Motorsport Academy, which will nurture the South African motorsports stars of the future and even give them a shot at potentially being part of the official Volkswagen factory team.
Sports sponsorship in South Africa: time for the reemergence of MotoGP?
Africa has a decent pedigree when it comes to motorsport, with South Africa alone producing a fair few international stars – including upcoming rider Brad Binder, who currently rides for KTM in the MotoGP class and believes that “something is changing” when it comes to MotoGP appreciation in his home country. Kork Ballington, the South African rider who won four world titles in just two years, was inducted into the motorcycling Hall of Fame last year.
There is also a history – if somewhat of a patchy one – of MotoGP racing in South Africa itself, with the country’s last GP race taking place in 2004.
So, could we see MotoGP return to Africa in the near future? We’d never say never, especially when the economy of the continent and the scope for sporting and leisure activities to become lucrative is growing. Watch this space…
Interested in learning more about sports sponsorship in Africa? Contact RTR Sports Marketing today at info@rtrsports.com
Riccardo Tafà
Managing Director for RTR Sports, Riccardo graduated in law at the University of Bologna. He began his career in London in PR, then started working in two and four-wheelers. A brief move to Monaco followed before returning to Italy. There he founded RTR, first a consulting firm and then a sports marketing company which, eventually, he moved back to London.
Similar category
The online platform where you can discover the latest trends, strategies and insights from the exciting world of sports marketing.
View our blog
March 12, 2025
Moto2 sponsorship agency
As part of the sponsorship in motorsport, Moto2 represents a key piece from a technical point of view, from a communication point of view and as a transition platform to MotoGP. In this artic[...]
Read More
January 9, 2025
Inside the KTM Crisis: What It Can Mean for Sponsors and Riders
We are pleased to publish on our pages the interview with our Associate Director Silvia Schweiger by Matteo Senatore on the KTM crisis that appeared in Formula Passion. Read the original ital[...]
Read More
January 7, 2025
Motorsport Marketing: A Comparative Analysis of Formula 1 and MotoGP
Motorsport marketing is a dynamic and multifaceted field that combines global outreach, sponsorship strategies, fan engagement, and technology to promote racing series and their associated br[...]
Read MoreWhy choose RTR Sports Marketing
In an era where it is possible to get anywhere with a click, there is a strong temptation to approach teams and properties directly for sponsorship projects.
By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
Save time and money
When first approaching a sponsorship or sports marketing project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Sports is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
The right information, the right choice
Sports is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A sports marketing and sports sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which sport, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
Activations are the beating heart
Activations are the real heart of sports sponsorship. Without them, there remains only a blank sticker on a motorcycle, car or uniform and no contact with the public, no emotional connection, no impact on the bottom line. Then how do you do it? It certainly won’t be the teams or the athletes who will help you leverage sponsorship and enjoy the many marketing rights you have paid for. To bring out the best in a sports marketing project you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase on the Web, to reach out to Shopping Centers, to organize hospitality, to develop B2B and B2C opportunities, and to get “your” athletes in front of millions of potential consumers.
Objective measurements for a certain return
Would you ever go to the dealer who sold you the car and ask if the competitor’s car is better? No, of course. So, how do you expect to get firm measurements of the effectiveness of your sponsorship if you do not rely on someone super partes? At RTR, we have always worked with independent third-party agencies that allow us to know the return on any exposure of your brand on TV and in the media. In addition, we believe in calculating ROI as the ultimate measure of your success-so we can tell you for every penny you spend how much you are making.
Sit back, relax, we’ll take care of it
We have been involved in sports sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
I would like to highlight the fact that one of the qualities of RTR is its great ability to approach the sponsorship scenario strategically, together with its passionate attitude, its amazing enthusiasm for solving problems, and its high level of professionalism.
Gianluca Degliesposti
Executive Director Server&Storage EMEA
Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
Commercial Director
Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
Head of Communication
We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
Team Principal
I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
Jim Wright
Group Commercial Director
Recent posts
The online platform where you can discover the latest trends, strategies and insights from the exciting world of sports marketing.
View our blog
March 14, 2025
Hot Wheels Formula 1: sponsorship between tradition, innovation and passion
Recently, the motorsport world has witnessed the birth of a new partnership, the multi-year partnership between Formula 1 and Hot Wheels, announced in 2024 and set to expand in 2025. This col[...]
Read More
March 12, 2025
Moto2 sponsorship agency
As part of the sponsorship in motorsport, Moto2 represents a key piece from a technical point of view, from a communication point of view and as a transition platform to MotoGP. In this artic[...]
Read More
February 28, 2025
How Esports Fuel Motorsport Sponsorships.
Motorsport is undergoing a momentous transformation, thanks to theintegration of digital technologies and virtual racing. The meeting of the real and the virtual has opened up new avenues not[...]
Read More