Mzansi SA20, the new South African Twenty20 franchise cricket competition, has signed a multi-year title sponsorship deal with Betway ahead of its launch in January 2023.
The SA20 league has the ambition to become one of the top t2o leagues in the world and compete with the likes of IPL Indian Premier League, the Big Bash in Australia and the Caribbean Super League.
According to Sports Pro Media, the agreement with the Super Group-owned gambling firm fills a key piece of inventory after the Cricket South Africa-backed (CSA) competition secured a ten-year broadcast rights agreement with Viacom18 for the commercially vital Indian subcontinent market.
“This is another significant milestone for us as we welcome Betway to our growing list of invested partners,” Graeme Smith, SA20 commissioner.
“They are a global brand with a passionate interest in cricket around the world and we look forward to seeing the Betway SA20 scale new markets and audiences globally.”
Betway chief executive, Anthony Werkman added, “It’s a great privilege for Betway to become the title sponsor of the inaugural Betway SA20 as we continue to position ourselves as a market leader with our cricket offering on our sportsbook,”
“With the competition drawing attention from all corners of the world and with the huge excitement building for the launch of the tournament, we are delighted to see the Betway brand continue to showcase its long-standing commitment to the sport with another top-tier sponsorship.”
SA20 is a replacement for Mzansi Super league which played for only one season after the failure of Mzansi Global League. Hopefully SA20 will become successful and becomes the force to be reckon with.
The inaugural SA20 campaign gets underway on 10th January, with the league’s six privately-owned teams – the Durban Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape – completing a 33-match schedule.
The league has already signed up a number of T20 stars, including England’s Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan and Adil Rashid, as well as home favourites Quinton de Kock and Tristan Stubbs.
Who owns the league and how’s the shareholders look like?
The SuperSport pay-TV network, which owns a 30 per cent stake in SA20, will air the tournament in South Africa. CSA (50 per cent) and former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief executive Sundar Raman (20 per cent) make up the rest of the competition’s ownership group.
