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CASTLE PREMIER CHALLENGE NOT GONE FOR GOOD - SPONSOR

22/05/2017 09:22:00 BY LWAZI DLAMINI

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MATSAPHA – Following the withdrawal of the sponsorship of the Castle Premier Challenge by Swaziland Beverages, the company has assured the nation they have not gone from football for good.

In a press briefing at the company premises on Friday, the company, through Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs Mphumelelo Makhubu, announced the withdrawal of the sponsorship, which stood at E700 000 but was quick to state that the decision was based on the internal processes within the company.

“We did inform the PLS in April on our stance regarding the sponsorship that it will no longer be available as part of the Premier League’s annual menu of tournaments, starting this year - 2017,” Makhubu said.
Makhubu stressed that the decision to withdraw the sponsorship had nothing to do with the way the Premier League of Swaziland (PLS) was running the game.

“We sincerely applaud the PLS office for managing well our partnership of this tournament over the years and the value this has generated for our business and brand.
“We are very proud to have been part of the significant development strides achieved in local football, evidenced by the continued improvement in performances at team and national level in regional and continental competitions,” he said.

Makhubu said they would really love to come back to football in the near future. “We do hope that future circumstances will provide an opportunity for us to once again partner with the PLS office and our soccer loving fans,” he stated.
Premier League of Swaziland (PLS) Chief Operations Officer (COO) Pat Vilakati confirmed that Swaziland Beverages had called them about a month ago to announce the withdrawal.

“In fact they wanted to withdraw the sponsorship after the end of the contract but the chairman successfully convinced them to sponsor for another year.
“There are changes in the management of the company and they are reviewing all sponsorships, not just the one they had with the PLS,” he said.