Leading SA Companies Sponsoring Women’s Sport

Women’s sport sponsorship is on the rise and companies in South Africa are seeing the value of backing the women’s side of the game.

For many years, women’s sport has been an afterthought when it comes to corporate support, however the narrative is changing in a more positive direction.

Major companies such as Momentum and Sasol have led the charge in cricket and football, respectively, as they have shown tremendous support for a gender-balanced sporting future.

This has paved the way for more institutions to back women’s sport as it involves much more than a financial investment in players, however it demonstrates an investment in equality and meaningful change within the sporting arena.

According to our official Market Research & Insights provider, Nielsen Sports South Africa, the following companies are continuing to make huge strides to amplify women’s sport:

Sasol: In October 2021, Sasol and SAFA signed a new deal that will see the company continue to sponsor women’s football in South Africa. Sasol have been a long-term sponsor of women’s football since 2009.

Hollywoodbets: Since 2019, Hollywoodbets has been the principle sponsor of the SA women’s football league in South Africa.

Momentum: The title sponsor of the Proteas women’s team until the end of the 2023-2024 season. The Momentum Proteas are now ranked second in the world and have just beaten the West Indies ahead of the cricket World Cup in New Zealand.

Investec: The bank is a leader in women’s golf, and they just added another sponsorship of Zethu Myeki who joins an all-women team of Lejan Lewthwaite, Nicole Garcia, and Stacy Bregman as sponsored athletes. Investec also announced their renewed partnership with the Sunshine Ladies Tour and the Investec South African Women’s Open for a further four years.

MasterCard: In June 2021, Mastercard entered into a sponsorship agreement with the South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) to broadcast exclusive women’s grassroots rugby content to ignite an interest in the game. This sponsorship aims to increase the television coverage of women’s grassroots rugby and expand on the continued focus on gender balanced marketing.

BlackWidow Cricket Equipment: In January 2022, Soweto Pioneers Cricket Club in partnership with Lions Cricket, announced Blackwidow as the official equipment partner to the Soweto Pioneers Cricket Club Women’s team. Blackwidow cover the club with all their equipment needs.

Telkom: The telecommunications company is a passionate supporter of women’s sport and continues to elevate netball in the build-up to the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town. It’s partnership with Netball South Africa is just the tip of the iceberg. Over and above the Telkom Netball League, the leading semi-professional netball league in South Africa, the Telkom Netball Championships launched in 2021 where top school netball players had an opportunity to showcase their talents.

Photo 1 Caption: Momentum are title sponsors of the Proteas women’s team until the end of the 2023-2024 season. The Momentum Proteas are now ranked second in the world and have just beaten the West Indies ahead of the cricket World Cup in New Zealand. Photo: gsport

Photo 2 Caption: Sasol have been a long-term sponsor of women’s football since 2009, and signed a new deal with SAFA October 2021 that will see the company continue to sponsor women’s football in South Africa. Photo: gsport