Carling clears the air on perceived conflict in Chiefs’ new deal

Yesterday, the two parties announced the new five-year deal at the AB InBev headquarters in Johannesburg, an event attended by the Chiefs management, legends, fans, brewery management, and journalists. The company also sponsors the Carling Black Label Knockout and Carling Cup, and the brand director, Kerryn Greenleaf, assures there’s no conflict with this latest deal announcement.

"The history of Carling Black Label and our journey in soccer started in the early 2000s when we started the Carling Cup, which was a Soweto Derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. That has evolved in to today's Carling Knockout, which supports all 16 clubs in the PSL," said Greenleaf

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Before a club sponsorship is announced, it must be cleared and approved by the Premier Soccer League (PSL), meaning the partnership between the brewery and Chiefs is above board. Chiefs board member and marketing director Jessica Motaung has more on this deal.

"Well, this deal entails – obviously – a financial contribution to the club, but most importantly, it is centered around our fans. I think we share the same value in saying that Carling has always been about sporting fans and being there for them.

"We, as a club with such a huge fan base, are looking out for our supporters making sure they have experiences that will change their lives," said Motaung

One of the key pillars of this sponsorship in the first few months is the grand prize of an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals in North America. Greenleaf explains how this is going to work.

"We are giving one lucky fan an unparalled prize, which means we are takinhg them on an all-expenses-paid trip to the FIFA World Cup. Carling Black Label is the official beer sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, so we are doing that. Just imagine going from the FNB Stadium all the way to the biggest football stage in the world."

In relation to this weekend’s CAF Confederation Cup game, there’s a huge relevance between the sponsor’s nickname and the team Chiefs are playing, Zamalek. Back in 1993, when Chiefs were the first South African club after re-admission to international football to play in the Africa Champions Cup (now CAF Champions League), the beer was nicknamed after the Egyptian team (Zamalek) due to the resemblance of the colours. Motaung says Amakhosi’s progress in the CAF Confed Cup this week will equally be historic.