AmaZulu target PSL ‘big three’ with growing sponsorship appeal

AmaZulu have emerged as the best-supported South African football club outside the Premier Soccer League’s established “big three” of Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs after agreeing a new sponsorship with Amstel.

The three-year deal, signed last week, is the latest sign of the club’s efforts to build its commercial profile. Chief executive Sinenjabulo Zungu said AmaZulu had worked for several seasons to recover from the loss of Spar, their principal sponsor for almost 40 years.

“It [attracting sponsors] is not easy. It’s taken us a while as well to get to a point where we’ve attracted the likes of Amstel,” Zungu told Sowetan on Tuesday.

“We lost Spar… and it took us [a few seasons] to get someone who says, ‘I am putting my hand up; I’ll support the club,’ because essentially they [Amstel] approached us.”

Zungu, the daughter of AmaZulu owner Sandile Zungu, said the club had deliberately focused on developing its identity beyond results on the pitch.

“AmaZulu are not only about the playing side of things,” she said. “We put a lot of emphasis on brand equity and growing the brand. We re-launched our logo last season, and that was intentional because we are trying to corporatise and commercialise the brand.

“The reason why brands like Amstel are coming on board is that they see that we are more than a football club; we are a brand.”

The club’s branding work was recently recognised at the Loeries, South Africa’s major advertising awards. Zungu said no PSL club had previously entered the competition and that AmaZulu’s participation was designed to expand their reach beyond the local market.

“We [recently] won awards at the Loeries. Anyone who follows advertising would actually acknowledge how big that is. No PSL club has ever entered the Loeries, and for us, that’s intentional… it’s to make the brand not only local but global.”

She also indicated that the Amstel agreement would not be the final addition to AmaZulu’s commercial portfolio.

“Having Amstel on board is a big step, but I think it’s only the beginning. People must watch out; there’ll be a lot coming.”

The value of the three-year sponsorship has not been disclosed. Zungu said only that it was “worth a substantial amount of money”.

Amstel will feature as a sleeve sponsor. Amandla Mobile has been AmaZulu’s headline sponsor since July 2024, when it replaced Spar, while Primo Sportswear became the club’s technical and kit supplier at the start of last season, replacing Umbro.

The club’s other listed partners include Mitsubishi Motors, its vehicle partner since August 2021, and Thule, which has held an outdoor and luggage partnership since September 2021.