Craven Week left orphaned after divorce between Coca-Cola and Saru
One of the longest-running sponsorships in South African sport came to an end last year.
The biggest annual school rugby tournament in the world the Craven Week is without a sponsor after Coca-Cola and Saru decided not to renew their long-standing relationship after 35 years.
The cancellation of the sponsorship was confirmed by the chairman of the South African Schools’ committee, Noel Ingle.
Coca-Cola’s sponsorship included the other youth weeks of Saru as well as being the main sponsor of the South African Schools’ side the last couple of years. Apparently Saru also didn’t renew the contract with the beverage company as the supplier of soft drinks in SuperRugby.
Coca-Cola first sponsored the Craven Week back in 1984 in Bloemfontein. The sponsorship was a couple of million rands per year. Before 1984 the festival of rugby was sponsored by Toyota for a couple of years.
The tournament was broadcasted by SuperSport each year and Coca-Cola as one of the biggest brands in the world was surely not unhappy about the exposure they’ve received through the partnership. According to sources Saru wanted to increase the sponsorship package by more than the annual increase of about 10%.
According to sources Saru is still searching for a replacement title sponsor for this year’s Craven Week that will be hosted at Grey College in Bloemfontein. Saru also shared the terrible news last week that the Springbok Experience at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town will close down.
The longest sponsorship of sport in South Africa is Coca Cola’s of the annual Khaya Majola cricket week. Last year’s tournament in Cape Town was the 40th anniversary of this partnership between Cricket South Africa and Coca-Cola. The cricket week was known as the Nuffield Week when the sponsorship started and is known in cricketing circles as the Coke Week.
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