Tottenham Hotspur & SA Tourism: Dodgy Possible Conflict of Interest Revealed

Tottenham Hotspur & SA Tourism: Dodgy Possible Conflict of Interest Revealed

Keba Mothoagae
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:24 PM
In this article:
English Premier League logo
ENG Premier League
England
  • To no one surprise, there is already the smell of dodginess surrounding SA Tourism's proposed deal to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur
  • The South African government's marketing agency wants to become the club's shirtsleeve sponsor
  • There appears to be a conflict of interest involving the agency's chief financial officer

Surprise, surprise.

There is already an irregularity surrounding the tone-deaf and highly controversial proposed deal involving SA Tourism sponsoring English giants Tottenham Hotspur.

sa tourism, johan van der walt, daily maverick, tottenham hotspur themba khumalo, premier league, visit south africa, proudly south african
A screenshot of the PowerPoint presentation that was leaked to the Daily Maverick. Image source: Daily Maverick.
Source: UGC

The Daily Maverick, which made the proposal public thanks to a leak inside SA Tourism, has now revealed that the organisation's chief financial officer Johan Van Der Walt is possibly conflicted in the deal. The publication reported that he has ties to WWP Group, an agency that will supposedly "activate" the sponsorship, raking in £1.5-million (R31.3-million) for its efforts. Van Der Walt is a director of companies linked to the WWP Group and admitted to directly working for the company before.

sa tourism, johan van der walt, daily maverick, tottenham hotspur themba khumalo, premier league, visit south africa, proudly south african
A Business Day cartoon has an acute take on the proposed Tottenham Hotspur-SA Tourism sponsorship. Image source: Business Day.
Source: UGC

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ click on "Recommended for you" and enjoy!

Elsewhere, TS Galaxy chairman Tim Sukazi told Robert Marawa in an interview on the radio that the timing of the deal was wrong.

Government blasted for Spurs deal

South Africa's government would do best to read the room.

The administration's proposed move to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur under its marketing arm has been interpreted as being tone deaf considering the problems the country is going throw.

Overwhelmingly, if social media is to be believed, this has proven to be an unpopular proposal considering the problems that the country is going through.

SA Tourism to sponsor Spurs

Should the South African government get its way, its name will appear on Tottenham Hotspur's kit.

An exclusive report by the Daily Maverick has revealed that the administration's market agency, SA Tourism is seeking to become one of the North London outfit's title sponsors.

The deal is said to be in the region of about R1-billion (£42.5-million) over three years. It is similar to the talked-about deal between the 'Visit Rwanda' campaign by that country's government and Spurs' arch-rivals, Arsenal.

Authors
Keba Mothoagae photo
Keba Mothoagae
Editor- Local Desk
Tags
South AfricaWorld