African football and domestic leagues have developed slower in comparison with European leagues, which is the widely accepted benchmark as regards league football standards. As a result, the immense monetization boom Europe has witnessed over the years has trickled into Africa at a significantly slower pace. While there are numerous reasons for this, many suggest that the natural preference for European leagues over local leagues continues to hold back African football with commercial partners opting to associate more with European leagues.

Amid the relative slow growth in African football, the Egyptian league- when it is not plagued by crowd violence and civil disturbances- has been one of Africa’s better domestic football leagues. Contributing to this heritage by way of continental and domestic success is Egyptian club Al Ahly.

Different from the rest

As one of the continent’s biggest clubs, Al Ahly has grown to be a major football brand in Africa and as such, while other clubs struggle with generating revenue through sponsorship, AlAhly is enjoying credible success having previously had partnerships with stellar brands such as telecommunications firm, Etisalat. Al Ahly has also enjoyed corporate partnership with Chevrolet, Pepsi and Egyptian beverage company, Juhayna.

However, recording another milestone, the Egyptian Premier League football team has signed a new record sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabia’s Sela Trading Company. Reports suggest that the new record deal is valued at a staggering $30 million over the next three years as the Saudi Arabian electronics distribution and trading company strikes a deal with Egypt’s biggest football brand.

Al Ahly, already Egypt’s most successful team, has now set the record for scoring the biggest sponsorship deal in the history of Egyptian football. The new deal with Sela Trading Company represents a tangible upgrade on Al Ahly’s previous deal with Etisalat as the new deal with the Saudi Arabian company is reported to more valuable than the Etisalat sponsorship by $10 million.

In return for its sponsorship dollars, Sela Trading Company will become a main sponsor of Egypt’s oldest football club and gets considerable exposure in Egyptian media. With Al Ahly constantly involved in continental competitions, Sela Trading Company are also likely counting on scoring significant mileage across the rest of Africa.

Sela Trading Company will be hoping to reap benefits of brand association with Al Ahly, a football brand which has endured and has been strengthened over its 108 year existence.

Success breeds more success

Al Ahly, named the “African Club of the Century” by CAF in 2000, also has incredible international pedigree as they hold the record for most official international titles won globally. In total, Al Ahly holds 130 official trophies- also a record as it surpasses titles held by any other senior team in the world.

The club’s incredible commercial success has been aided in large part by its success on the pitch. This on-pitch success has been a direct result of impeccable organization and top level planning as, over its long decades of existence, the club has operated on similar levels to European teams with structures in place to secure long term continuity as opposed to many other clubs along the continent which are run haphazardly and only fixated on short-term success. In Africa’s vast  football landscape, Al Ahly, in many ways, remains a shining beam of what could be if attention is paid to top-notch organization.

The in-flow of more sponsorship and corporate dollars to Africa will do wonders for the continent’s football economy. Players will earn better salaries, clubs will have increased spending power, infrastructure can be upgraded and, just like it has been in Europe, the sport can become a truly lucrative sector of national economies.

Al Ahly is setting the pace in this regard and the challenge is for other clubs to follow or even attempt to surpass Al Ahly’s achievements not only on the pitch but also in the boardrooms.

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