Three SA Tourism board members resign with immediate effect amid Tottenham proposal

The South African government is looking to seal a sponsorship deal with Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

• Three South African Tourism board members have resigned.
• Enver Duminy, Ravi Nadasen and Rosemary Anderson resigned with immediate effect.
• The resignations were announced days after details of the controversial Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship proposal were revealed.

Three South African Tourism board members have resigned amid the controversial Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship proposal.

Enver Duminy, Ravi Nadasen and Rosemary Anderson resigned with immediate effect.

South African Tourism board chairperson Aubrey Mhlongo confirmed the resignations, specifically recognising Duminy and Nadasen, who were serving their third term.

Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has accepted the resignations. The process of appointing “suitable replacements” is under way.

The resignations were announced shortly after reports that SA Tourism’s interim chief financial officer, Johan van der Walt, was linked to an agency identified in the controversial Tottenham sponsorship proposal.

SA Tourism has proposed a three-year deal with the English Premier League club, worth £42.5 million (about R900 million), starting at the beginning of the 2023-’24 season and ending at the end of the 2026-’27 season.

READ | SA Tourism CFO linked to agency related to controversial Tottenham Hotspur deal

SA Tourism would receive kit branding, interview backdrop branding, match-day advertising, partnership announcements, training camps in South Africa and free access to tickets and stadium hospitality.

However, it was later revealed that Van der Walt was a director of several companies linked to the WWP Group – an agency used during the proposal of the partnership.

The deal is being opposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

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