While football, rugby and cricket have created attractive brands for sponsors, due to live television coverage and public support, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Sam Ramsamy called on corporates to see the value in backing other sporting codes.
Ramsamy said most 'cinderella' sports were relying on government assistance, but the social and development aspect should create a platform to attract corporate funding. "My personal view is that the corporate sector is not responsible enough," he said. "Many sports in South Africa are run from kitchen counters after dinner, and people are putting hands in their own pockets to keep those sports going. Sports like swimming, rowing and canoeing are run very well but they need to have high-profile administrators involved in one way or another, who can approach sponsors and secure funds."
David Sidenberg, head of strategic consulting, broadcast and rights structuring at BMi Sport Info, believed less established sports needed to have a more professional approach. "We're running professional sport with an amateur system," Sidenberg said. "Established sports like rugby, cricket and football are fine, but it becomes a problem for smaller sports."
Clinton van der Berg, head of communications at SuperSport, was confident that new broadcast channels would offer potential coverage for sports that struggled to gain coverage. This, in turn, would assist in attracting fans and sponsors. "Smaller sports are trying desperately hard to get on television," Van der Berg said. "The game changer will be digital terrestrial television because in all likelihood there will be a 24-hour sports broadcast and they're going to need content. People will already be thinking how they can make that compelling."
Other topics that attracted interest and created lively conversation at the Summit included the potential banning of alcohol sponsors and the challenges of attracting fans to stadiums for live matches.
Imtiaz Patel, the group CEO of Multichoice, believed South Africans would rise above these challenges and continue to thrive on the field of play. "Everything goes through ups and downs," Patel said. "When our national teams do well everything is wonderful, but when they lose everyone complains. Fortunately we have a sports minister and an environment that is very passionate about sport. We need commitment and execution, and if we do that properly, it's not all doom and gloom."
