“The Soweto Marathon that will be held this year is the biggest prize we should all celebrate.”
This is what Bank of Africa Chief Marketing Officer Sposiso Kumalo said when asked why, despite the Bank joining the new sponsor of the race, the top prize remains R250,000.
The launch to officially reveal Bank as the title sponsor of the race took place at Sakhumzi Restaurant on Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, yesterday.
Bank of Africa’s deal with the Soweto Marathon runs for five years. Kumalo suggested that the money made could increase in the next few years, insisting that the first step was to ensure the race took place amid the chaos that erupted a few weeks ago when some of the Soweto Trust’s board members, who have since been suspended, announced that they would be let go. Race.
“We still need more financial resources. What we contribute certainly does not cover the entire budget of the event. We hope to sit down with the organizers to make the event attractive from the point of view of prize money in the future. For now it’s an elephant that we want to eat a piece of,” Kumalo said. One at a time…we can’t do everything in the first year’.
The people’s race will be held on the fifth of November. Kumalo also explained why they would continue their collaboration with the Soweto Marathon amid the impasse among the Trust’s board members.
“Our role as a company is not to shy away when there are challenges but want to be part of the solution by engaging with the trustees, understanding what is going on and what they are doing to make sure they can put their home in order,” said Kumalo.
The arrival of Bank of Africa has also seen the entry fee reduced to R380 from R550 for the marathon, to R300 from R450 for 21.1km and R280 from R350 for 10km.