International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Impact Factor (2012): 3.358 Volume 3 Issue 11, November 2014 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Challenges Faced by the Zimbabwe Football Association on Securing Corporate Sponsorship Simbarashe Magonde 1 , Edmore Nhamo 2 1, 2 Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe Open University, Midlands Region, Zimbabwe Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges being faced by the Zimbabwe Football Association in its quest to secure corporate sponsorship. This study adopted a qualitative methodology, utilizing the case study as the research design which guided the generation of relevant data. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to collect data from senior and middle management personnel at the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) and the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). Data was also collected from football coaches and football fans using questionnaires and some was extracted from relevant ZIFA documents. A total of 45 study respondents were purposively sampled for data collection. The study established that the Zimbabwe Football Association faced a myriad of challenges in sourcing corporate sponsorship. These included negative publicity, socio-economic challenges, ineffective marketing strategies, poorly qualified administrative personnel as well as maladministration or poor corporate governance issues. The study also established that these challenges can be overcome by inter alia engaging appropriately qualified personnel, engaging relevant ministries, improving marketing strategies and corporate governance issues. Keywords: Challenges, corporate sponsorship, Zimbabwe Football Association, Zimbabwe 1. Introduction In the history of sport, sponsorship is considered a critical factor in the development and growth of any sport code. Sponsorship is the provision of funds or other forms of support to an individual or organization in return for a commercial return [1]. From the above definition it can be deduced that corporate organizations on one hand and sports organizations as well as individual sport persons on the other hand can have a symbiotic (win - win) relationship through sponsorship. The win- win relation is based on the fact that sports organizations and individuals can rely on corporate organizations for financial and material support while the corporate organizations can also rely on sports organizations for economic mileage. Companies can sponsor big sports events for big money in exchange for having the brand logo on boards at the sides of the playing fields [2]. This would benefit the sponsors as a marketing strategy. In this respect, it would then become a win - win situation. For this reason, many corporate organizations have targeted football for purposes of branding. In the developed world there has been a stampede by members of the corporate sector to invest in football. Examples include Heineken and Amstel, companies which specialize in alcoholic beverages and sponsor football in Europe. The companies have invested huge sums of money into football and have also significantly benefited from the sponsorship deals. Heineken and Amstel have since expanded their market share in Europe, Africa, the Americas and certain parts of Asia. Apart from clubs and leagues there are also nations that enjoy significant corporate sponsorship. One good example of a nation which has vast football corporate sponsorship is Brazil. Volkswagen is recently said to have committed US 3, 5 billion to its business in Brazil to be spread over the next 15 years, targeting the Brazilian football team. Regionally, South Africa is a good example of a nation where football is adequately sponsored. For instance giant companies like South Africa Breweries (SAB) and ABSA Bank injected an amount more than R500 million to the South African Football Association (SAFA) while Ned Bank injected R20 million as prize money for the Ned Bank tournament. Zimbabwe, like any other country requires corporate sponsorship in order to run its football affairs successfully. In the past, sponsorship was not very difficult to secure particularly in football which is arguably the most beautiful and most popular sport in Zimbabwe. There used to be many companies that used to sponsor Football in Zimbabwe. Consequently, local football became very competitive with major tournaments such as the Chibuku Trophy, Rose bowl Cup, Castle Cup, the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) cup and the British American Tobacco (BAT) league. At the turn of the 21 st millennium and right up to 2014, there was a general decline in the standards of football in Zimbabwe. This was largely due to inadequate sponsorship coming from the corporate world. This study therefore attempts to investigate the challenges being face by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) in their quest to secure meaningful corporate sponsorship. 1.1 Statement of the Problem On many occasions ZIFA has struggled to put the national team in camp and pay players’ and officials’ allowances on time. A few years ago the football mother body was fined and suspended by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after the national team failed to fulfill a continental fixture. Financial woes at ZIFA seem to have continued unabated due to lack of sponsorship. The current study therefore seeks to investigate the challenges that affect the process of securing corporate sponsorship by ZIFA and propose recommendations for improvement. 1.2 Research Questions • What challenges are faced by ZIFA in attracting corporate sponsorship? Paper ID: OCT141449 2012