Cosafa lose Metropolitan under-20 Championship deal

blow with one of their major sponsors, Metropolitan, announcing their withdrawal from funding the Under-20 Championships.
Patel was, last Friday, given a fresh five-year mandate to lead the regional body with the 59-year-old former Seychelles Football Association president being retained unopposed following the dramatic late withdrawal of rival candidate Danny Jordaan.
The Seychelles businessman then later told the media in Gaborone, Botswana, that the Metropolitan Under-20 tournament would remain the region’s flagship tournament until they revive the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup. But just when he thought his main task would be to find a title sponsor for the Senior Challenge Cup, Patel will now have to also grapple with finding a sponsor for the annual Under-20 Championships in time for the December 2012 edition.
This is because South African financial institution Metropolitan indicated that they would be winding up their funding of the regional body’s development competition by March next year.
Ironically, Patel had given the media assurances that Metropolitan would continue their marriage with the Under-20 Championships.
Metropolitan announced their withdrawal through a statement issued by the company on Thursday.
“Metropolitan regrets to announce its withdrawal from the sponsorship of the Cosafa U-20 Youth Championship, effective end of March 2012.
“This announcement comes after a strategic review of all sponsorship properties by Metropolitan following the merger between Metropolitan and Momentum in December 2010 to create MMI Holdings.
“The decision to withdraw was a difficult one as we have made a significant investment in the Cosafa U-20 Youth Championship during our six-year partnership.
“We are confident that we are leaving the tournament in good shape for a potential new sponsor,” said Belinda Faulkner, Metropolitan Brand Executive.
“Essentially, we believe that by refocusing our resources and funding to our other soccer properties and financial education initiatives, we can reach our consumers and meet our business objectives more effectively. Research indicates that less than 6% of South Africans save. There is an overwhelming need for financial education, and this will be a strong focus for us going forward.
“Through the Cosafa U-20 Youth Championship, Metropolitan has helped showcase the talents of thousands of youngsters across the continent.
“Players who have benefited include Thulani Serero and Knowledge Musona, who have gone on to achieve great things both on and off the field.
“An important component of Metropolitan’s soccer sponsorships is life skills workshops that focus on areas such as financial literacy and HIV/Aids education, as well as community empowerment through creating opportunities for small business development and infrastructure development. We have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with Cosafa and would like to thank them for their ongoing commitment and dedication to the development of football in the Southern African region. We also extend our appreciation to the teams, coaches, local organising committees and suppliers for their longstanding support,” Faulkner said.
The financial institution said they would not immediately terminate their obligations to Cosafa and would fulfil the remaining three months of their deal.
“Metropolitan will honour all existing obligations and activation support stipulated in the contract with Cosafa, which runs for another three months”.
But for Patel and his executive, who also had to fight a court battle to reclaim the rights for the Senior Challenge Cup, it will be a challenging start to the new Year as they strive to ensure that football remains alive in the 14-member regional bloc.
Cosafa indicated that they have already struck a deal with the Zone VI leadership to have the Under-17 boys competition being run under the auspices of the bi-annual SADC Zone VI Games.