Delta Beverages unveils US$5 million sponsorship package

DELTA Beverages has unveiled a US$5 million sponsorship package for the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.

By Tongai Mwenje and Causemore Gadeni

DELTA Beverages, a subsidiary of Delta Corporation has signed a 3-year sponsorship deal that will extend its backing of the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League until 2019, in a contract estimated to be in the region of US$5 million.

The deal which has given the top-flight a new lease of life comes after the football mother board, ZIFA and its affiliate PSL had resolved the relegation – promotion impasse that rocked the local football fraternity few months ago. The impasse saw the league’s principal sponsors,Delta Beverages, threatening to pull out of top-flight football matters on the pretext of protecting corporate image.

The three million four hundred and fifty thousand dollars (US$3,450 000) package aims to provide a structured and professional league administration, guarantee prize money to clubs at the end of the season as a reward for attaining their respective positions on the log, offer exciting knock out football tournament and honour players, coaches and referees who excel above their pees during the season.

Over and above the US$3,450 000 money, the sponsor will also invest a further US$2 million in support of the league through advertising and promotion of the league by deploying various activities that benefit the fans, consumers and traders of Castle Lager and Chibuku Super.

Thus bringing the total investment of five million four hundred and fifty thousand dollars (US$5, 450 00) Delta commits to local football.

Delta Beverages Marketing Director, Maxen Phillip Karombo described the deal as the biggest single sponsorship in Zimbabwe premier soccer league history.

” This is the biggest commitment to sport that any company in the country has ever done,” said Karombo.

PSL acting chairman Kenny Mubaiwa thanked and paid tribute to Delta Beverages for their renewal of the sponsorship as well as continued investment in football.

“Our partnership with Delta Beverages through their Castle Lager brand will enable us to continue to develop the sport and achieve our mandate of making football More Than Just A Game. During our partnership with Delta, we have seen super fans enjoying right from the start to the end of the season,” the Dynamos President and PSL Chairman Kenny Mubaiwa

“A total number of 3 065 488  fans have paid to watch Castle Lager Premier Soccer League games since 2011. A total of 1440 matches have been played under the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League brand,” added Mubaiwa.

The new sponsorship package gave birth to a new cup tournament code named the Castle Challenge Cup, taking the Delta packs tally to 3.

The new kid on the block will only feature winners of the Chibuku Super Cup and the Premier League winners. The match which will be played on the last weekend of the football weekend will see the winners get US$50 000 and the runners getting US$20 000.

The cup however does not have a ticket into the African Safari unlike the Castle and the Chibuku Cups.

Meanwhile, the Premier Soccer League on Thursday released the  2017 fixtures. – sportbrief.co.zw