Hollywoodbets puts its money on South African football fourth division

Betting company Hollywoodbets has been revealed as the new headline sponsor for South Africa’s fourth division, the Safa Men’s Regional League.  

The Durban-based company and the association agreed on a two-year deal with an option to renew.  

The deal comes as a huge relief for both Safa and the clubs at grassroots level as the division had been without a sponsor since 2019 when SA Breweries stopped financing the amateur league.  

Since then the league has been funded through the 2010 Fifa Legacy Trust, which Safa confirmed had run dry, its bank accounts officially closed, in February.  

During the announcement at Safa House in Johannesburg on Tuesday, the federation’s vice president Linda Zwane said fourth-tier clubs faced many hardships over the period without a sponsor.  

“It’s going to benefit the people in the villages, teams or clubs at the level and our regional associations,” Zwane said.  

“We are excited that today, we have a partner who saw it fit to come on board for our regions and the players in various villages in the country, rural areas, the towns and urban areas.

“What is very important is that the investment that has been made by Hollywoodbets is a milestone for us because if you don’t invest at grassroots level, chances of you having a better Bafana Bafana, a better Banyana Banyana, is not possible.”  

All 52 Safa regions are regulated to run a fourth-tier league of 18 teams, where the top two sides gain promotion to the third-tier ABC Motsepe League. 

This is the second partnership between Hollywoodbets and Safa as the betting company also backs the Hollywoodbets Super League, Safa's top-tier women’s league.