Report: South African president to discuss Spurs sponsorship row

The political fall-out from Tottenham’s proposed sponsorship agreement with South African Tourism continues, with the country’s president Cyril Ramaphosa now expected to discuss the deal with the tourism minister, BBC Sport have revealed.

The report explains that South Africa Tourism (SAT) had provisionally agreed to a three-year deal shirt sponsorship deal with Spurs starting at the beginning of the 2023-24 season.

According to the proposed agreement, which is worth £42.5m, SAT will receive kit branding, interview backdrop branding, match-day advertising, partnership announcements as well as free access to tickets and stadium hospitality.

However, the proposal has come in for criticism from opposition parties in South Africa over the last couple of weeks (The Sunday Times).

BBC Sport have now claimed that three SA Tourism board members, Enver Duminy, Ravi Nadasen and Rosemary Anderson, have resigned with immediate effect due to their opposition of the proposed deal.

The report explains that Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu will meet with Ramaphosa this week following the outcry.

The publication adds that the acting Chief Executive of SA Tourism, Themba Khumalo, is still in support of the deal as he believes it will bring a large number of tourists into the country, given the global reach of the Premier League.

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Spurs Web Opinion

I do not think Tottenham would have quite realised the kind of political minefield they would be stepping into when the sponsorship was proposed.

The club may perhaps decide that it is not worth the hassle and instead decide to find a private sponsor instead, even if the deal is not as lucrative as SA Tourism’s proposal.

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