08 February 2023 , 16:01
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A significant sponsorship deal between Tottenham and South Africa's tourism board has been blocked by the country's lawmakers.
Spurs were set to agree a three-year partnership worth £42.5million, but the deal collapsed due to South Africa's socio-economic situation. Power blackouts and water shortages have occurred and there are concerns the proposed deal could increase tensions.
The collapse of the deal is the latest blow for Tottenham's sponsorship plans, as chair Daniel Levy is still trying to land naming rights for the club's new stadium. Despite the £1billion ground opening in April 2019, it is still known as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
As reported by The Telegraph, Tottenham had conditionally agreed a deal with South African Tourism - the country's official tourism board. It included kit branding, interview backdrop branding and matchday advertising - as well as training camps in the country.
The idea was vetoed by the South African parliament's tourism committee. According to spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa "did not think spending so much money in the manner that is being suggested will be justified".
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That view is shared by the tourism committee's chair Tandi Mahambehlala. She said: "This deal, it ends here, today, now, because there is everything wrong about the deal itself... there must be an investigation on this matter with immediate effect".
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Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu added: "I am not aware that any agreement has been signed with Tottenham Hotspurs. That would only happen after agreements from the Treasury. So we do not have a deal, as far as government is concerned."
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's opposition party, are also against the idea. They have described it as an "insult" to the country's tourism sector, which is still recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The money should rather be spent locally to improve our tourism sector so that it can thrive, create jobs and in turn contribute to the much-needed growth of our economy," continued the Democratic Alliance's statement.
Tottenham are looking to grow their commercial revenues to give Antonio Conte a better chance of competing in the Premier League. A huge revenue stream will give the club, which hasn't won silverware since 2008, more wriggle room with Financial Fair Play.
Spurs are currently ninth in Deloitte's Football Money League - a global league - after pocketing €523million (£465m) during the most recent recorded financial year. That is substantially more than local rivals Arsenal, who boasted figures of €433.5m (£385.4m).
"We are accessing the audience in the EPL so that they can come to South Africa to spend money here through tourism," said Themba Khumalo, the acting chief executive of South African Tourism, in defence of the idea. Tottenham have not commented.