Financial services provider Momentum announced today that they will not be renewing their sponsorship of One-Day cricket when their contract with Cricket South Africa (CSA) expires in April 2021. However, they will continue their support of the Momentum Proteas as the naming rights sponsor for the national women’s team.
Carel Bosman, head of Sponsorships at Momentum said, “Our eight-year partnership as a sponsor of cricket in South Africa has been hugely rewarding for our brand. We have had some really great innings, considering that we were involved in several platforms such as development cricket, schools cricket, club cricket, domestic and international cricket. Our support of and contribution to cricket is a positive story that we are proud of.”
Momentum has expressed that they are not satisfied with the current state of affairs at CSA regarding governance and other reputational issues. “We will continue our dialogue with CSA to keep them accountable to do the right thing. We all want to see a governing body that is run professionally and ethically, and one that considers all stakeholders to the game. We wish CSA well as they move forward,” said Bosman.
Momentum has been supporting the women’s team since 2013 and this commitment remains in place with a contract running until April 2023. Prior to Momentum’s involvement with women’s cricket, none of the players held professional contracts with CSA. In 2020 the Momentum Proteas now have a full complement of 14 contracted women’s players plus a full-time coaching, support and management team. “We have been extraordinarily proud of our role in supporting the advancement of the women’s team and remain committed to that sponsorship agreement. Our continued support of the Momentum Proteas is in line with our brand narrative and we will continue to shine a light on their talent, build their commercial value and enable them on their journey to success,” concluded Bosman.
Additional sponsorship info:
The eight year sponsorship (from June 2012) provided naming rights for all One-Day cricket in South Africa and included all One-Day Internationals (ODIs), the Momentum One Day Cup (MODC) domestic franchise championship, the Momentum National Club Championships (MNCC), Momentum School’s Weeks for U13, U15 and U17 learners and other developmental initiatives such as the Momentum Friendship Games and the Momentum eKasi Challenge.