SA Hockey Team Lands 4 Sponsors in 2 Weeks via Social Media

A South African hockey team just proved that small sports can think big when it comes to funding their dreams.

The U21 men's hockey squad faced a familiar problem last year: they needed nearly R2 million to compete at the Junior Hockey World Cup in India. Government funding covered only half, leaving the young athletes scrambling for R800,000 with the tournament weeks away.

Enter Ziyaad Solomons, who joined as commercial manager in September with a bold plan. Instead of chasing huge sponsors with empty promises, he targeted small local companies with something valuable: quality content.

The team transformed into what Solomons calls "a content generating machine." Within two weeks, they partnered with Snapp.Bags, Kecks active underwear, ProTouch Hockey, and Science in Sport. These weren't cash deals but product partnerships where sponsors provided gear in exchange for professional photos, videos, and social media exposure.

The strategy worked brilliantly. After proving they could deliver consistent, high-quality content, the team attracted Discover Sport just two weeks before the World Cup. This time, it was real investment money that the squad used to purchase their tournament kit.

Hockey in South Africa sits at the edge of mainstream sports, noticed only during big moments but struggling financially. In 2022, the senior men's team had to decline an invitation to the prestigious FIH Pro League because the association couldn't meet the R10 million entry requirement.

The sport runs on an event-based structure without year-round programming. The national team played together only three times in 2025, limiting their exposure to high-performance competition. Meanwhile, the South African Hockey Association operates entirely on volunteers.

The Ripple Effect

What started as a survival strategy for one team could reshape how amateur sports approach funding in South Africa. The U21 squad showed that social media levels the playing field, allowing smaller sports to build genuine partnerships without massive marketing budgets.

Their approach mirrors what happened with Wrexham AFC when celebrity owners used social media to grow the club's following from 45,000 to 4.5 million across platforms. That visibility attracted major sponsors like TikTok and United Airlines. The South African hockey team applied the same principle on a smaller scale, proving the model works at any level.

For small and mid-sized companies, partnering with amateur athletes offers authentic storytelling and engaged audiences without the massive costs of professional sports sponsorship. The athletes get essential funding and equipment. Everyone wins.

Other amateur sports facing similar financial constraints now have a blueprint: build your content quality first, prove your value through smaller partnerships, then scale up to investment sponsors.

The U21 team's World Cup journey may have ended, but they've scored something bigger for South African sport.