Mercedes-Benz halts SAFA deal

1 Mar 2013

The fleet of Mercedes-Benz S350 cars being used by top officials of the South Africa Football Association (SAFA) will be handed back following the ending of a contract between the organisation and Mercedes-Benz SA (MBSA)

Lynette Skriker of MBSA said the three-year sponsorship agreement between the company and SAFA ended in December.

Mercedes-Benz is the second major sponsor to pull out of SAFA. Earlier this year, Puma ended its contract to supply apparel.

Puma told SAFA that it was ending its contract because of the match-fixing scandal that involved four Bafana Bafana matches allegedly played in 2010.

Yesterday (28 February), the national football controlling body was quick to point out that Mercedes-Benz's termination of their deal was not linked to match-fixing.

SAFA's communications director Dominic Chimhavi said MBSA informed them in December that it would not extend the contract.

Chimhavi said this was before the Fifa report on the match-fixing was released.

"There is nothing untoward in the cancellation of the sponsorship," he said.

Skriker said: "Mercedes-Benz enters into a number of sponsorships as part of their product marketing strategy. The three-year sponsorship agreement between MBSA and the SA Football Association came to its contracted conclusion in December 2012."

Source: Sowetan via I-Net Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

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