CEO Zungu vows Usuthu will scale new heights after landing another sponsor

AmaZulu have positioned themselves as the most-sponsored local football club outside the top three — Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs — after signing a new sponsorship deal with Amstel last week.

AmaZulu CEO Sinenjabulo Zungu has narrated Usuthu’s appeal to the corporate world, insisting it has never been easy for the club to reach the level they’ve arrived at as far as attracting sponsors is concerned.

“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 [their main sponsor for almost 40 years]... 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.”

Sinenjabulo, the daughter of the club’s owner, Sandile Zungu, insisted that a lot of work has been done behind the scenes to grow the AmaZulu brand and that they are now reaping the rewards.

“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.

“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.”

Zungu vowed there will be even more sponsors in the future. “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.”

She wasn’t at liberty to disclose how much their three-year Amstel sponsorship was worth, saying only that “it’s worth a substantial amount of money”.

Some of AmaZulu’s current sponsors and partners

• Amandla Mobile: Headline sponsor, since July 2024 (replaced Spar);
• Primo Sportswear: Technical and kit sponsor (replaced Umbro at the start of last season);
• Amstel: Sleeve sponsor (for three years after the deal was signed last week);
• Mitsubishi Motors: Vehicle partner since August 2021;
• Thule: Outdoor and luggage partnership since September 2021.