The SA Football Association’s (Safa) tech partner Inqaku, which provides the MYSAFA football management system, is sponsoring 200 football teams affiliated to the association across South Africa with free kit.
The sports tech start-up and licensed FSP (financial services provider) saw an opportunity to use its network of 20 000 football clubs in SA to disrupt the funeral market while giving clubs a desperately needed mechanism to acquire kit and generate income.
“Inqaku is really assisting our clubs,” explained Mongezi Khatshiwe, executive officer of Kouga LFA in the Eastern Cape. “Their funeral policies don’t just take like other funeral policies. They give something back to football.”
In addition to the kit, whenever a club refers an Inqaku funeral policy sale, the club earns an amount equal to 10% of the premium paid into their MYSAFA wallet, every month. Clubs can use these rewards to pay for equipment, additional kit and Fifa-certified player registrations.
“The kit giveaway is a way to support grassroots clubs, many of whom are in desperate need of new kit,” said Jason Anderson, Inqaku chief operating officer.
“Corporate sponsorship of amateur football has dried up, so we must find new ways to drive money to clubs campaigning at the local and regional level. That is where our Fifa World Cup-winning side will come from and that’s where our focus lies.”
Mncedi Lali, club manager of United Brothers FC affiliated to Sundays River LFA in the Eastern Cape, was one of the first to adopt the Inqaku kit giveaway promotion.
“Our Inqaku kit has brought smiles and hope to our community. Looking ahead, we really like the idea of using the rewards to purchase club-branded merchandise that we can sell to our supporters to generate real cash,” said Lali.
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