Naicker was speaking at a SuperSport’s Media Roundtable at the MultiChoice Content Showcase at The Outrigger Hotel and Resort on the same day SuperSport announced that the 11th edition of the All Africa Games will be broadcast live on SuperSport 9 on DStv and GOtv, starting with the opening ceremony on Friday 4 September.
Naicker spoke to a contingent of African media at a media roundtable discussion facilitated by SuperSport anchor Carol Tshabalala also included Motheo Matsau, Head of Marketing, SuperSport General Manager: Southern Africa Graeme Murray and special guest Anthony Baffoe, a former Ghana International footballer and FIFA and CAF General Co-ordinator.
As the biggest contributor in Africa investment in continental sport, SuperSport has yielded impressive results, according to Murray. ‘In 2006 we flew a crew of 26 people to Abuja to broadcast a football game. Today, we’re proud to say that we have 100% local crews operating our facilities in Nigeria and Ghana,’ he said.
Baffoe added that SuperSport’s contribution has extended beyond broadcasting, into increasing levels of professionalism in leagues across the continent. ‘SuperSport laid the foundation in club licensing, upskilling the administrators, setting basic standards at the stadiums – and they’ve even assisted with setting up the Players’ Union, making players stakeholders in the leagues and allowing them to plan for life outside football,’ he said.
Murray cited the broadcaster’s involvement in local football leagues as a prime example of the way sport has grown on the continent. “We started working with the Nigerian Premier League in 2006 and it’s gone from strength to strength,” he said. “We progressed to the Nigerian Super Eagles’ League and the Nigerian Basketball league, both of which are doing better than ever. We’ve been partners with the Kenyan Premier League since 2008 and the Ghanaian League since 2012. Not one Kenyan league game had been broadcast on television for a decade before we partnered with them, and look at how the league is thriving.”
SuperSport recently concluded a deal with the Zambian League which will see league and cup competitions continue to air on SuperSport for the next 5 years. The channel also announced plans to establish a dedicated magazine show out of Zambia, which will do much to raise the profile of the league on the continent.
‘We’re proud to not only be the best sports broadcaster on the continent, I think we’re one of the best in the world,’ said Naicker. By utilizing stars from the continent like Sammy Kuffour to share their expert insights, to helping develop sports at grassroots level with country-specific projects, SuperSport is leading the African sporting renaissance and telling the story of African sport to the world.
