Tennis in South Africa has a new headline sponsor: Growthpoint Properties.
The leading South African business and international property company, Growthpoint, has joined forces with Tennis South Africa (TSA), as the headline sponsor of the federation, to grow the foundations of tennis in the country. Growthpoint’s initial two-year headline sponsorship commenced on the 1st July 2017 and focuses on tennis development, club tennis and junior tennis.
Richard Glover, CEO of TSA, describes Growthpoint’s funding as a ground-breaking sponsorship with the potential to reinvent the future of tennis in South Africa.
Glover comments: “We are hugely honoured to partner with a blue-chip brand like Growthpoint Properties. Their backing is a massive endorsement of the new positive energy flowing through our Federation. Growthpoint understands that for a sport to thrive, investment is first needed in the foundations – hence their focus on development, clubs and juniors. With Growthpoint’s support, the sleeping giant that is tennis in South Africa is starting to stir!”
TSA is the controlling body for tennis in South Africa and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game in the country. Its mandate is to grow the sport across three critical pillars: interest participation and high performance. TSA recently launched an ambitious growth plan to step-up change the sport over the next eight years, which attracted the interest of Growthpoint.
Nadine Kuzmanich, Head of Marketing at Growthpoint, explains ‘creating space to thrive’ is Growthpoint’s business philosophy and its sponsorship of South African tennis creates opportunities for children and adults from all backgrounds to learn, compete and excel.
Kuzmanich comments: “By focusing on the foundations of tennis, this sponsorship transcends the court to have an enduring positive influence on the fabric of South African society. We believe we can make a very real difference with this high-impact sponsorship. Growthpoint is indeed pleased to be associated with the future of tennis in South Africa.”
She adds: “With other big sports saturated from a sponsorship perspective, it made sense for Growthpoint to get involved with tennis, where we can be a headline sponsor and have a meaningful impact. We are passionate about helping to grow South African tennis back to its former glory with this much-needed sponsorship. Of course, secondary sponsors have a valuable role to play too. With Growthpoint in place as its main sponsor, tennis now offers a great entry point for secondary sponsors to get involved and have big results.”
Growthpoint’s backing enables the roll out of TSA’s new transformation and development plan - including the introduction of three new centres of development excellence and the creation of a national development squad.
Key junior tournaments, including the TSA Junior National Championship and the eight events that make up the TSA Junior National Series, will also benefit from the sponsorship.
Finally, Growthpoint will be the lead sponsor for the new National Club Championships, which will comprise 14 regional events across the country and a national grand final. The National Club Championships is a doubles tennis format event for men and women and is open to all club players in the country.
“By earmarking prize money for winning clubs, as well as the players, we are investing in the facilities and capabilities of community tennis clubs across the country. This will also help to build and grow the sport with more resources,” says Kuzmanich.
With its tennis sponsorship, Growthpoint is investing in South Africa’s future leaders. A recent study by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) shows that tennis players in South Africa tend to be key business decision makers - 60% of tennis players in the country work in managerial and professional occupations and 28.5% work in upper managerial positions.
Norbert Sasse, CEO of Growthpoint, knows first-hand the positive role a sport like tennis can play in a youngster’s life. In fact, it was tennis that set him on the path to becoming a CA(SA). As a junior player, Sasse’s coach was a CA(SA), who coached part time.
“He inspired me, not only to work hard at my tennis but also to study hard, and to achieve though hard work and hard play,” says Sasse.
With its commitment to TSA, Growthpoint aims to contribute to community development and make a lasting difference to the sport of tennis in the country.
Growthpoint is a JSE-listed REIT (real estate investment trust) and a leading international property company. It owns and manages a diversified portfolio of 533 properties, including 473 properties in South Africa, 59 properties in Australia through its investment in Australian Stock Exchange-listed Growthpoint Properties Australia and a 50% interest in the properties of the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. It also owns a 26.9% stake in the €1bn property portfolio of London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market-listed Globalworth Real Estate Investment, the largest owner of office space in Romania.