PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday 23rd June, 2010
PROSPORT INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS WITH SPORT INDUSTRY AWARDS
The Sport Industry Group is delighted to announce that leading sports marketing company ProSport International has become an Official Partner of the Sport Industry Awards 2011 in South Africa, the first-ever opportunity for the rapidly evolving South African sports market to celebrate its business achievements.
The new agreement sees ProSport International awarded Partner status covering the entirety of the Awards programme which will open for entries for its inaugural year in September following this summer’s World Cup, the first to be staged on African soil.
Mike Makaab, Global Head of Football, Prosport International, commented: “This is an exciting time for sport, in particular football, at the moment. Prosport has been proud to see eight of our players representing their countries in the FIFA Word Cup currently being held in South Africa.
“We are delighted to be associated with the Sports Industry Awards and are looking forward to be part of the team that rewards South African corporates and governing bodies that contribute to the growth of the sports industry in this country.”
Added Craig Livingstone, Global Head: Rugby and Cricket, Prosport International: “I think it is commendable that a UK-based award has been brought to South Africa to recognise what the South African market has done in developing sport in this country.
“South Africa is an extremely passionate nation about our sport and it has united us in so many ways. Having been involved in the rugby market for fifteen years I can honestly say that sport has been such a source of pride for us and Prosport are delighted to be associated to such prestigious event.”
South Africa’s leading sports marketing company joins a growing list of commercial partners to the Awards led by fitness chain Virgin Active which has signed up as Headline Partner and including Virgin Atlantic, SuperSport, Rapport, City Press, EA Sports and Deloitte.
The City of Ekurhuleni will stage the inaugural Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards which will take place on February 17th, 2011 and will be hosted by Emperors Palace.
Presented in front of a star-studded audience of all the key stakeholders in South African sport, the Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards will recognise and reward the best the South African sport business has to offer in categories covering marketing, PR, sponsorship, media, advertising and design.
The annual Awards ceremony will see the country’s top-performing sport brands and organisations receive recognition for their work at a glamorous black-tie event in what has become the most visible and sought-after endorsement of commercial achievement in sport.
Three of South Africa’s most inspirational and successful sport stars – Lucas Radebe, Bobby Skinstad and Natalie du Toit – are serving as the event’s Ambassadors.
Having just completed its ninth year, the corresponding UK gala event is the largest sport business event in Europe and has attracted the highest profile global sporting and non-sporting celebrities including the likes of David and Victoria Beckham, Jenson Button, Fabio Capello, Sir Alex Ferguson, Martin Johnson, Dame Kelly Holmes, Kevin Pietersen, Thierry Henry, Bernie Ecclestone, and Michael Johnson who have lined up alongside all the key stakeholders from within the UK sport industry to celebrate the annual Awards.
For more information visit www.sportindustry.co.za or contact:
Leigh Weir Smith George Marx
Email: leigh@studiopr.co.za Email: george@sportindustry.co.za
Mobile: +27 84 444 2212 Mobile: +27 72 432 5085
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Sport Industry Awards is organised by the Sport Industry Group – a networking organisation that sits at the heart of sport. Through editorial content and a series of events analysing the business, the Sport Industry Group looks to scrutinise the bad and celebrate best, helping set the agenda for the world’s most dynamic industry.
The Sport Industry Awards recognise and reward the best the sport business has to offer in marketing, PR, sponsorship, new media, publishing, advertising and design. It is Europe’s largest and most prestigious commercial sport awards. To the attendees it is also the most important networking occasion in the sport business calendar.
Now in its ninth year in the UK, previous winners at the Sport Industry Awards have included David Beckham (Outstanding Contribution to British Sport); Sir Bobby Charlton (Lifetime Achievement Award); Nike (Best TV Sport Commercial); Vodafone (Best Sponsorship of a Team or Individual); adidas (Sport Brand of the Year); Samsung (Best Integrated Sport Marketing Campaign); and Guinness (Best Sponsorship of an Event or Competition).
For more information on the UK Awards, visit www.sportindustry.biz.
The Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards in South Africa is the first replication of the Awards beyond the UK and the inaugural event will take place on February 17th, 2011 in the City of Ekurhuleni. The Awards categories as confirmed by the organisers at this point will be:-
• Best Corporate Social Responsibility Programme in Sport
• Sport Brand of the Year
• Best Use of PR in a Sport Campaign
• Best Commercial Franchise of the Year
• Best International Sponsorship from a South African Company
• Best TV Sport Commercial
• Best Sport TV Show
• Technological Innovation in Sport Award
• Best Sport Magazine
• Best Sponsorship of a Sport Event or Competition
• Best Sponsorship of a Sport Team or Individual
• Best Grassroots Development Programme
• Provincial Governing Body of the Year
• Sport Agency of the Year
• South African Sport Leader of the Year
• Sport Entrepreneur of the Year
• The Lifetime Achievement Award
For more information on the South Africa Awards, visit www.sportindustry.co.za.
The organisation behind the Sport Industry Group is also the team responsible for Beyond Sport – the global initiative that seeks to trigger positive social change through sport. Its mission is carried out through the Beyond Sport Awards, which provide support worth $1 million annually to projects across the world, and the Beyond Sport Summit, an annual event led by world leaders to address sport’s role in addressing major issues.
For more information on Beyond Sport, visit www.beyondsport.org.