JOHANNESBURG – It is not just the coveted star above the club crest Kaizer Chiefs would gain should they beat Al Ahly in Saturday’s CAF Champions League final in Casablanca, Morocco.
Amakhosi stand to earn much more than the title of African champions, which will see them give their long-suffering fans respite from the ridicule they’ve endured from their Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns adversaries, whose clubs have long decorated their jerseys with the star reserved for the winners of the continent’s premier club title.
The brand growth aside, there are 90 million reasons why Kaizer Motaung will implore Bernard Parker and Co to overcome Pitso Mosimane’s Red Devils.
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Victory at the Stade Mohammed V will see Chiefs swell their bank balance by a minimum of R90million. That’s the equivalent of six successive Premiership titles.
It is the kind of money that is sure to see us hearing a song completely different from the one they’ve been singing at Naturena during previous years.
While Pirates and Sundowns have always enjoyed continental football, Chiefs’ attitude towards CAF competitions had been pretty negative – Amakhosi claiming that it was a costly exercise and often sending weakened teams and thus exiting early.
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The reality though is that there is a lot of money to be made in the Champions League, especially once a team reaches the group stages.
Now that they have reached the ultimate stage, Chiefs have hit the jackpot and victory will be as good as their having won the Powerball.
The winner of Saturday’s match will earn a cool $2.5m. For Chiefs, that will equate to about R37.5m at today’s exchange rate of nearly R15 a US dollar. Chiefs would have played 15 matches to win the continental title – half the amount of matches it takes to win the R15m DStv Premiership title.
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The financial boon will not end there for Amakhosi because victory will see them participating in the Fifa Club World Cup where they are guaranteed to earn at least $3.5m, $2m for qualifying and $1.5m if they get knocked out in the first round.
There is also the CAF Super Cup clash they will play against CAF Confederation Cup champions Raja Casablanca where the winners earn $US200 000, an extra R3m should Chiefs be victorious in that match.
For many years one of the biggest brands – in sport and generally – in South Africa, Chiefs have increased their continental appeal with this unlikely march to the final and victory will elevate their standing even further.
Club marketing director Jessica Motaung is fully aware of this and excitedly spoke of it prior to the team’s departure for Casablanca yesterday.
“This competition has been an incredible journey for the Chiefs brand as it has seen us touching our supporters on the continent and growing what Chiefs is in countries such as Tanzania, Angola and even Morocco where we’ve played.
“It’s great to see the support base growing on the continent, the growth of merchandise sales and just the general interest from outside in who we are as Chiefs. Being able to broadcast online and finding new audiences outside South Africa. It’s also been great to see the brand grow in North Africa – in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco – we’ve had great interviews there.
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“The media have interest in wanting to know more about our players and they are surprised by the infrastructure we have. Our brand has been extended through merchandising and the supporters on the continent are getting more familiar with us.
“But while our continent is beautiful and we will continue to meander through it, we are now after the world, we want the world to be a lot more aware of the brand.”
Victory on Saturday will guarantee just that, and bring with it at least a R90m cash injection that will make the marketing of the brand all the more easier.
IOL Sport