WE GO AGAIN:
KEVIN MCCALLUM: Sport is good for business and the corporates know it, but money can get too tight to mention
There is money for sport out there. Finding it — and keeping it — is easier said than done
On Monday, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) announced that sponsors are like London buses. When you want one, there are very few around. When one comes along, another follows. Except that they don’t come along as quickly as all that. One Saru official says it has taken 18 months of negotiations to get First National Bank on the Springbok jersey. A person involved with the deal says it has taken closer to two years. Money is tight. Down at the Radium Beer Hall last month, my mate Manny Cabeleira, the owner of the greatest pub and grill in Johannesburg, says he has had some thin months. We spoke on a Saturday at lunchtime just before the Lions played the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby semifinal. The Radium was packed, not a spare seat to be had. "This is a Lions pub," says Manny, "apart from some dodgy Sharks fans." The Radium was full again last week ahead of the Super Rugby final. I tried to get a table for an early lunch, but there was no space at the inn, not even for a man who...
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