LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 06: A general view inside the stadium during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on July 06, 2020 in London, England. Football stadiums across Europe have remained empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as the Government’s social distancing laws have banned fans from the venue resulting in all matches being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille on Friday said the canceled R1 billion sponsorship partnership between South Africa and English soccer team Tottenham Hotspur was “illegal and illegal” and that the deal violated SA Tourism’s supply chain management process.
In a media briefing, De Lille explained the sequence of events that took place in January Everyday Maverick reported how SA Tourism has worked to sponsor the well-known London team.
The sequence of events surrounding the deal included meetings in December between SA Tourism officials and Tottenham who, De Lille said, made a presentation to their South African counterparts before SA Tourism board members traveled to London in January for five days.
Not only does the proposed deal breach SA Tourism’s supply chain processes, it is also unconstitutional and in breach of the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA), De Lille said.
“It appears that sponsorship is a service that is proposed to be obtained by procurement through ‘sole source’. However, sole source procurement is only allowed if there is no competition in the market, and only one supplier can provide goods or services, which is not seen here,” said the minister.
He added that the fees for the Tottenham deal would be “irregular or illegal.” [expenditure] within the meaning of that term in the PFMA”.
De Lille has also written to the chair of the SA Tourism board, Thozamile Botha, as part of the investigation into the controversial sponsorship deal, and the minister has provided a response from Botha.
Botha, in a letter to De Lille, said the board had an agreement “in principle” with representatives from Tottenham, but no deal had been signed with England’s soccer team, which competes in the country’s elite men’s league.
“Therefore, honorable minister, we humbly state that, in fact, there is currently no illegal and illegal transaction, because the transaction does not exist. The legal advice recorded in the letter is based on the existence of a valid and binding transaction, which did not happen , as the necessary PFMA approval has not been sought,” Botha wrote.
“What’s more, no Tottenham transaction has been canceled because nothing has been completed. What is there is a fundamental decision to start the necessary process
to [the] conclusion of the transaction.”
De Lille said major sponsorship deals, such as Tottenham’s partnership, must be transparent so the government can be held accountable to the South African people.
“Based on the council chairman’s interim response received this morning, 24 March 2023, my advice to the SA Tourism board is that the proposal may be shelved,” he said.