Telkom on Thursday announced the continuation of its sponsorship of the Telkom Charity Cup, the Premier Soccer League’s traditional season-opener, which it has sponsored since 2000. The contract extension is for the next three seasons (2009-2011).

In a press statement released earlier at a press conference at Summer Place in Johannesburg, Nombulelo Moholi, Managing Director of Telkom SA, and Dr. Irvin Khoza, Chairman of the PSL, hailed the thriving relationship between the two organisations.

This year, Telkom celebrates the tenth anniversary of its association with the PSL and the Telkom Charity Cup. Over the past decade, Telkom has proven to be a reliable and loyal football patron by serving as the official sponsor of two PSL competitions (the Company also sponsors the lucrative Telkom Knockout).

As a national supporter, Telkom is also a sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

“With South Africa having just hosted an exhilarating Confederations Cup and with the kick-off to 2010 truly on our horizon, we could not walk away from our involvement in the Charity Cup. We need to continue to nurture the talent that could bring home soccer’s global showpiece, while also contributing to the needy and destitute at the same time,” said Moholi.

The format for the charity event remains unchanged. Supporters of the 16 PSL teams that are eligible for participation can vote as many times as they please to ensure that their favourite club is among the Top Four teams when the vote lines close at midnight on Sunday, 26 July 2009.

By using a Telkom public phone or a Telkom landline, voters stand a chance of winning daily cash prizes and Telkom Charity Cup memorabilia. The more times a caller votes and enters the competition, the greater the chance of being one of the two daily prize-winners of R500 or the winner of the grand prize of R10 000.

A portion of the cost of each call goes towards the proceeds earmarked for distribution to the charitable organisations, most of which are selected by the 16 participating PSL teams.

Cellular phone subscribers could also vote for their teams by sending SMS (text) messages, accompanied by their team’s name, to 34620.

“Each team, therefore, has the opportunity to positively influence the sustained functioning of charities in their respective geographic areas. The onus, therefore, rests on the teams to encourage their fans to vote for them,” urged Moholi.

"A decade ago, we entered into our first agreement with the Premier Soccer League for the sponsorship of the Charity Cup," stated Moholi.

She added: “I must emphasise that Telkom is extremely pleased with our relationship with the PSL. Thanks to our sponsorship of football via the Charity Cup, Telkom Knockout and the 2010 FIFA World Cup ™, we are enhancing the growth of the most popular sport in the world, while at the same time raising funds for charities. Extending the Telkom Charity Cup sponsorship for another three years underlines Telkom’s commitment towards the development of sport and the upliftment of our local communities."

Khoza echoed Moholi’s positive comments about the excellent co-operation between the governing body of professional local football and the country’s telecommunications giant.

The PSL supremo said that charity is the main beneficiary of this agreement, but that a significant part of the sponsorship also benefits the promotion of local football clubs as their respective fans are afforded the opportunity to participate by voting their favourite teams into the competition.

The tournament is also the traditional season-opener for the PSL and, for the four participating teams, a perfect opportunity to showcase their new signings and talent.

The Telkom Charity Cup will take place on 1 August 2009 at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg. All the matches will be televised and broadcast over all SABC radio stations.

Since 2000, more than 500 charities across the country have benefited from funds raised in the tournament. In fact, the charity event’s 24 year history, dating back to 1986 under previous sponsor Iwisa, has distributed over R36 million to needy causes.

“It’s great to see so many soccer fans giving up their Saturday for a kick-about with a difference. The football skills on display are always first rate and the teams are always in great spirits. The Telkom Charity Cup is in a league of its own and helps to bring the plight of the needy to the forefront. Everyone, from the fans to the players and administrators, always has a brilliant day at the Telkom Charity Cup,” enthused Dr Leepile Taunyane, the Chairman of the NSL / Telkom Charity Trust.

Coming after the FIFA Confederations Cup, which sparked unprecedented enthusiasm from all South Africans for the sport, the Telkom Charity Cup will continue to bring together players and fans country wide in the quest to target a record R5 million rand.

“Football is a universally understood language and a powerful unifying force that can pull people of all nationalities, races and creeds together. This coincides with Telkom’s values and vision,” emphasised Moholi.

As the 16 teams jockey for participation in the illustrious Telkom Charity Cup, fans are able to keep pace with the excitement and drama in the voting stakes by logging on to www.charitycup.co.za.

Additional details about the Telkom Charity Cup 2009 consumer competitions and promotions that will be implemented will be available in the press over the coming month.

“As this is the tenth anniversary of Telkom’s sponsorship of this event, fans can look forward to a number of retrospectives, trends and interesting facts that we have been able to gather while staging the tournament over the past decade,” concluded Moholi.