IGOLIDE FOOTPRINTS (PTY) LIMITED PRESENTS BUSINESS PROPOSAL FOR THE INAUGURAL PRIDE OF AFRICA FOOTPRINTS PROMENADE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In December 2001, Peter Mdlalose - then owner of the Strollers Inn Backpackers on Main Road in Green Point, Cape Town - initiated a football tournament for international backpacker hotels. The tournament's primary purpose was to bring people from different nations and cultures, tourists and locals alike, together to play a friendly but competitive football challenge tournament, see local cultural dance groups and exhibits and mingle in a relaxed social atmosphere.

The popularity of the first tournament warranted a second tournament held in December 2002 and a third in December 2003. These tournaments attracted an average of 10 teams made up from players from all over Africa and some from as far afield as the UK. The tournament also attracted corporate sponsors such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, Old Mutual, Baz Bus and Day Trippers.

The success of this annual football tournament led to the idea of combining an annual football tournament with a major event honouring football legends from across South Africa and from all over the African continent. By creating such an event, Mr Mdlalose wanted to not only honour our football heroes, both local (provincial heroes) and national, but to also build a permanent structure - similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame - where people from all over Africa could visit to learn about football heroes, past and present.

This ambition led to Mr. Mdlalose contacting the World Champions Club, a recently formed organisation based in Monaco with contacts among recently retired football stars from all over the world. This contact was cemented by a visit to Monte Carlo in August 2003 to meet the marketing agency behind the World Champions Club, Image Promotions Company. The result of these contacts has been the initiation of the idea of creating a Walk of Fame and Promenade honouring retired South African and African football stars.

With this in mind, Mr. Mdlalose has set up a company called IGolide Footprints (Pty) Limited to source funding for creating this permanent structure and to link up with a host city that would secure the rights to host an annual event of this nature. Mr. Mdlalose has focused on Cape Town as the preferred host city for the stellar event. The premise on which the idea has been developed is based on a number of similar events which lend credence to the viability of this project, namely:

· The Hollywood Walk of Fame (see www.hollywoodchamber.net ) which attracts between one to ten million visitors a year,

· The Golden Foot Award (see www.goldenfoot.com ) held in Monaco every year, attracting interest from over 200 countries worldwide and

· The FIFA Hall of Champions Awards (see www.hallofchampions.com).

Each of these events has created not only interest in the industry/arena in which its honours the inductees - be it entertainment or sport - but also serves as a magnet to tourists and creates worldwide interest in the cities in which the awards/ events are held. Thus in creating the "IGolide Pride of Africa Footprints Event", the company seeks to create a magnet for domestic and international tourists and an opportunity to add an additional exciting, innovative tourist attraction for the host city and any public and/ or private partnerships interested in participating in this event.

IGolide seek partnerships with Cape Town as the host city, through the City of Cape Town Municipality, and interested parties in the creation of this annual football tourism event. The event will provide Cape Town with an additional tourism event for its annual events calendar, increase the profile of Cape Town as South Africa's most innovative city in terms of new and diverse tourism products and provide tourists with a more interactive offering where they can actively meet and mingle with the local population.

Too often tourists visit a city, are bussed around the main tourist spots, and may even have a "drive-through" tour of a township then jet off to their own countries without ever meeting the locals. By creating and investing in this event, the host city will provide domestic and international tourists with an event that provides these tourists with a safe, secure and, most of all, fun environment where they can meet and interact with locals who share their passion and enthusiasm for the "beautiful game". These are the kind of memories that create a loyal, regular tourism customer!

The Pride of Africa Footprints Promenade can also act as a catalyst to similar promenades and/or events in local township areas, honouring football heroes who may have been famous within their own townships but have since been neglected and/ or omitted from any local or national recognition.

A host of events can be arranged around the "Pride of Africa Footprints" event, such as

· local township promenades honouring local heroes from local teams,

· township football clinics with legends being inducted into the promenade, · township football tournaments to identify and nurture young talent,

· "real" township tours promoting local township tourism,

· township music events showcasing the musical and artistic talent in these townships and

· other sports events such as half marathons through a selected township(s) in the Cape Town metropole area.

The spin-offs from such an event are limited only by the imagination.

It is targeted that the pay-off from such an investment/ sponsorship will be:

1. Cape Town will create an additional tourism event for its annual calendar on par with the Cape Town Jazz Festival, the Pick n' Pay/Argus Cycle Tour and the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town. An example of how new events can create marketing opportunities is the snowboarding spectacular held at Dolphin Beach on 16 December 2003 which attracted 20,000 people1 from all over South Africa and the world.

2. We will attract additional publicity for Cape Town in particular and South Africa as a whole through inviting high profile sporting personalities to our shores.

3. Bring our children, especially from previously disadvantaged backgrounds into contact with local and international role models they would never otherwise see.

4. A new viable, self-sustaining marketing and social responsibility opportunity for the chosen location (chosen by the City of Cape Town) and all partner organisations, highlighting Cape Town's and/ or partner organisations' commitment to the upliftment of communities through credible social initiatives and programs.

5. Provide a catalyst to the establishment of Cape Town as the premier location for sports entertainment and development events, particularly in providing a means through which the identification of football talent in Cape Town can be nurtured and developed through programmes benefiting from the charitable outreach programmes set up under the auspices of the "Pride of Africa Footprints Promenade" .

I. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

Football is the number one sport in Africa as it is the number one sport in the world. The 2006 World Cup tournament held in Germany attracted several billion viewers worldwide. In the 70-odd years that the World Cup has been held, it has never come to Africa. In 2010, this premier event will come to South Africa, focusing the attention of the whole world on South Africa and the African continent as a whole.

In footballing terms, Africa has come of age. Among the world's powerhouses, countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon and Senegal are held in high esteem. Superstars such as George Weah, Roger MilIa, Abedi Pele, Samuel Kuffour, Thomas N'kono and South Africa's own Lucas Radebe have won honours and accolades at the highest levels. African stars are currently playing for esteemed football clubs such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayem Munich, Olympique Marseille, Monaco and Ajax Amsterdam. Africanborn players such as Marcel Desailly, Patrick Vieira and Zinedine Zidane have won the World Cup and excelled for top teams such as AC Milan, Arsenal and Real Madrid.

With all these achievements, African football stars who have contributed to raising the profile of Africa as a continent rich in footballing talent have yet to be truly honoured in their own countries and the continent as a whole. There is a noticeable absence of Halls of Fame for Africa's footballing trailblazers. It is with this in mind that the Pride of Africa Footprints Promenade is to be set up in South Africa, with Durban earmarked as the host city for this premium event.

The idea is the brainchild of Peter Mdlalose, founder of an annual football tournament held every December in Cape Town. In preparing for the December 2003 edition of the event, Mr. Mdlalose with the encouragement of the Cape Town Tourism Centre, decided to expand the format to include tourists and residents of Cape Town from countries outside South Africa. As part of the event festivities, retired superstars from South Africa and outside South Africa would attend to raise the profile of the tournament and create a money spinning annual event for the City of Cape Town to rival existing events such as the Cape Town Jazz Festival, The Pick n' Pay Argus Cycle Tour and the Two Oceans Marathon.

Due to lack of funding these ambitions were not realised. However, in trying to source superstars from abroad to grace the event, Mr. Mdlalose was invited to meet former Brazilian World Cup winner Carlos Dunga and his agent in Monte Carlo where Dunga was attending the launch of a new organisation called the World Champions Club - who were inaugurating a new event called The Champions Promenade Golden Foot.

After viewing the Champions Promenade situated along the Monaco seafront, Mr Mdlalose put forward the suggestion that a similar promenade be created for African stars. From this meeting it was agreed with marketing agency, Image Promotions Company of Monaco, the promotions and advertising agency for the World Champions Club, that an African version of the event would further raise the profile of Africa and its rich footballing heritage throughout the world.

The essence of the Pride of Africa Footprints Promenade is to create a panel of experts who will nominate a number of retired African football stars worthy of being honoured in what in effect will be an African Football Hall of Fame. In order for the event to attract interest throughout Africa and generate a large enough audience to attract advertising and licensee interest from additional sponsors, the panel will need to be garnered from respected individuals from the African football fraternity.

In this regard, the Pride of Africa organisation has already broached the event idea and purpose to the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Sport, Mr. B. Khompela with a view to seeking his endorsement on the event. Initial feedback has been one of enthusiasm for an event that can create a legacy for football heroes, past and present, who have been largely neglected by their countries and sports authorities throughout the continent. By getting the parliamentary committee chairman on board, Pride of Africa seek to get the approval of the Minister of Sport and the SAF A National Executive and generate the required credibility for the event.

It is key that SAF A endorse and support the event. With SAF A support, Pride of Africa will have access to high profile administrators such as Issa Hayatou, head of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Irvin Khoza, head of South Africa's 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee.

The next step will be to secure the endorsement of the editors and sports journalists of popular magazines such as African Football magazine, Kick-off magazine and Laduma. Pride of Africa will also target the endorsement of SABC Sport and Supersport Africa (and their 49-country coverage) and its popular football presenters and pundits, e.g. Mike Mangena, Robert Marawa, Terry Paine and Thomas Mlambo.

Getting the endorsement of these professionals and choosing the panel of selectors from individuals of this calibre will give the event the credibility and publicity necessary to start the inaugural event off with a bang!

From the nominees selected by the panel, football fans from all over Africa and the world will choose a number of winners who will have the honour of having their footprints set in cement for posterity. These footprints will be located at a venue chosen by the City of Cape Town as host city.

Each honouree will take away an award (a plaque showing the date of the award and a likeness of the footprints) to be designed in conjunction with the City of Cape Town, as the premier sponsor of the event. The award will be given to the honouree before a gathering of dignitaries at a gala dinner, again to be held at a location chosen by the host city.

It is the organisation's goal to create a world-class event that will result interest, sponsorship and endorsement of the host city in sponsors and retailers seeking advertising space and product endorsement from the IGolide Footprints company in conjunction with its premium partners in the event led by the host city. The model Pride of Africa seeks to emulate is the Champions Promenade Golden Foot run by the World Champions Club, which has garnered worldwide reach through their media partners - La Gazetta dello Sport of Italy, La Nadon of Argentina and the Miami Herald - and through high profile sponsors such as luxury retailer Zegg & Cerlati of Monte Carlo.

It is envisaged that Cape Town, in conjunction with the IGolide Footprints (Pty) Limited organisation, will hold the exclusive rights to host the event.

The envisaged revenue streams, with the view of leading the event to self-sufficiency within five years, will include:

· Selling tickets for the dinner event, part of the proceeds which will go towards a charity or charities selected by the City of Cape Town, chosen sponsors, the football legends themselves and partner organisations selected for their dedication to the promotion and development of football and the development of the host city itself,

· Endorsement or licence fees/ rights from retailers and sponsors who may want to advertise their products within the promenade area (with the approval of the host city as holders of the exclusive rights to the event),

· Tickets sales from local and international visitors to the Footprints Hall of Fame or museum and

· Auctioning of autographed footballs, memorabilia and paraphernalia garnered from local and overseas football clubs and players.

II. ORGANISATIONAL PLAN

The footprints event will be a private-public partnership venture between the City of Cape Town and the IGolide Footprints (Pty) Limited. As a result of discussions held by IGolide Footprints over the last six months, it is hoped that Cape Town, represented by the City of Cape Town Municipality, will agree to host the event in total over the next five years and hopefully beyond.

The Chief Executive Officer, Peter Mdlalose, will head the organisation structure of the IGolide Footprints company. As a new organisation, IGolide will initially outsource most of the organisational tasks involved with setting up the event in conjunction with the City of Cape Town.

The CEO will focus his considerable energies on marketing the event in South Africa, the rest of Africa and internationally. The CEO's marketing focus will also include liaison with the management of the host city as the premium partner in hosting and developing this event on a regular basis. He will further be responsible for finding new markets and revenue streams for the event.

Assisting the CEO in monitoring the running of the organisation will be an Administration/ Operations Manager. This individual will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation. This will involve monitoring the website including updating content, gathering voting statistics, liaising with sponsors and the outsourced functions such as even~ management, accommodation and airfare bookings, legal issues (trademarks and advertising rights) and carrying out the bookkeeping function of the organisation.

The Manager will also liaise with the panel with regard to choosing the nominees, opening and closing the voting and tabulating the final votes each year. All decisions and input involved in running and expanding the event will be in conjunction with the host city and any personnel seconded and/ or assigned to the promotion of the event by the host city.

All other employees will be contracted in for the day or period of the event only, plus there is a pool of volunteers the organisation can draw on should there be any need for extra help. The catering, logistics, transportation, accommodation requirements will all be outsourced to companies with the requisite expertise. A reputable accounting firm will audit the accounting function, chosen in conjunction with the host city.

III. THE MARKETING PLAN

Product: The product on offer is an annual African Football Promenade/ Walk of Fame event, honouring South African and African football superstars of old by imprinting their footprints and/or handprints on a tree-lined walkway location chosen by the host city.

Football is a unifying theme worldwide - as universal a language as music, love and other emotional facets of life. The promenade event as envisaged will provide a new local and international tourist experience - an additional annual event for the host city calendar - where visitors to the host city can get actively involved in events of a social nature.

Imagine the marketing potential of superstars from Africa and the world coming to Cape Town every year. The sun, sea and beaches of Cape Town will prove an undeniable attraction for these sportsmen and women and ensure their participation would immediately raise the event to the premier status enjoyed by already established events such as the Cape Town Jazz Festival and the Cape Argus/ Pick n' Pay Cycle Tour.

Market size: We target football fans all over the world plus the culture loving, adventure traveller and locals who would like to immerse themselves in what we envisage will be a wave of visitors from other countries. This is a broad market given the number of people who are fanatical about football worldwide.

The event itself will be held at a location chosen by the city of Cape Town. IGolide Footprints has indicated -its preference as a venue in or near to the new 2010 World Cup Stadium in Green Point. Th~ catchment area will include visitors to Cape Town from Africa and the world beyond plus local communities in the Cape Town metropole area and throughout South Africa.

With the publicity the event will get through advertising by selected media partners in the city and/ or province, it is targeted that a considerable number of people will pass through the gates of the footprints promenade. The entire marketing and promotion effort will be geared to this goal.

Target market: From the interest and inquiries already received, the target market will be local and international visitors, who will visit Cape Town.

This represents a significant revenue generating event for Cape Town and has a potential carry over effect to other tourist areas of South Africa as a whole. While Cape Town already receives a substantial number of visitors to the city, it is imperative that new events are created to keep visitors coming back and spending even more money, thus protecting a sustainable tourist industry in Cape Town.

Market need: Every business needs to constantly provide the kind of product or services to keep up with changing customer tastes. Pride of Africa and its partners seek to provide a product that actively involves visitor participation in the voting system, in the dinner and auction event establishing an annual event that is an alternative to the ubiquitous packaged, tourist product currently favoured by the market.

Competition: There are plenty of tourist packages and numerous companies operating in and around Cape Town, all seeking to attract visitors to our shores. A visit to the Cape Town Tourist Centre will confirm the number of brochures screaming for the visitors' attention.

The great thing about this event however, is that it is not in direct competition with any of these products and activities. IGolide Footprints see the event as an annual, one to two day event that can draw visitors from around the world to Cape Town and act as a catalyst for longer visits and greater publicity for the city and indeed South Africa as a whole. It is a complementary product offering rather than a competing product.

Should the event expand beyond one day, to include football clinics and other related activities, companies can market their products, packages and services to a targeted market of affluent people in one confined area for maximum exposure. The publicity generated by the presence of important and influential of world superstars plus a host of African football superstars and personalities will mean an opportunity for accommodation, tour companies and retailers to advertise their offerings as a means of getting visitors to extend their visits to take in all that Cape Town and South Africa have to offer. Everyone gets maximum exposure.

This is the beauty of this event. The event will bring people from all nations together under the Cape Town sun and surf, giving Cape Town the chance to showcase its attractions and proud cultural heritage. The event will gather service providers - food, drinks, arts and crafts, retailers etc - under one" roof" and to top it all enjoy a fun prestige event bringing Africa together under the most popular sport and entertainment brand of all - football.

Sponsors, advertisers and marketers get to show off their products and services to a large gathering of affluent spenders, all targeted in one place at one time earning each sponsor or advertiser maximum exposure.

Promotion: IGolide Footprints intend to promote the event at specialist tourism forums such as the annual International Tourism Indaba sponsored by the Department of Environment & Tourism and SA Tourism.

The company will also use targeted but inexpensive marketing channels and promotional material in the form of brochures, text SMS messages and well placed flyers. Placement will be important so these tools will be spread throughout high traffic areas such as information desks at the Tourism Information booths, travel agents, tour operators, exchange organisation offices and of course hotels.

The company will also seek publicity in the vibrant (and mostly free) local newspapers, newsletters and magazines. These have a wide readership in the local and tourist market we seek to attract to the festivities. This will either be in the form of articles, advertisements and/ or inserts in these publications.

Sponsors will be given pride of place in all promotional materials including at the tournament venue.

IGolide proposes a partnership with the website of Cape Town Routes Unlimited and also proposes to use contacts through partner football magazines to place an electronic brochure on the websites of these and other prestigious football organisations and especially fan sites all over the world. This will directly target our visitors market.

As a new Black Empowerment Enterprise, IGolide will have access to the considerable marketing expertise of organisations such as Cape Town Routes Unlimited, who will - we believe - treat this project with great enthusiasm. By using their resources and their world-class marketing machinery, the company believes it can directly focus its marketing effort where the target visitor is.

The marketing might of the City of Cape Town Municipality will bring on board their media partners, a combination that will be priceless in terms of raising the profile of the event to a world-class calendar event here in Cape Town.

The event will reach its climax at an annual gala dinner with invited local and international guests, including the inductees, to be held at a venue chosen by the City of Cape Town with ticket prices for the available 400 to 500 seats at between R500 to R750 per person or determined in consultation with the City of Cape Town.

IV. CONCLUSION

The "Pride of Africa Footprints" Promenade has been an idea in the making for the past three years. In that period, the man behind the idea, Peter MdIalose, has spoken to over 30 individuals and organisations seeking to test his idea with professionals involved in the tourism, hospitality, sport and entertainment industries. The response from organisations such as Cape Town Routes Unlimited and SAFA Western Cape, to mention a few, has been overwhelmingly in favour of the creation of such an event as an addition to South Africa's annual tourism event calendar.

The potential to bring local and international tourism to the preferred host city, Cape Town, is enhanced by the popularity of the theme of the event - the world's most popular sport, football. The event also has the potential to unite South Africa and Africa as a whole behind its favourite sport, by honouring its favourite sons and creating a pride in Africa, its heroes and its rich cultural heritage. It will also bring the added value of making South Africa a desirable destination specifically for football enthusiasts.

There is no similar event honouring Africa's football trailblazers and there are no discernable awards in existence that will attract the attention envisaged. By creating this event in Cape Town for Africans, by Africans, the city and indeed South Africa will take a leading role in proving the capability Africa has in hosting major sports entertainment events. Coming at a time when South Africa will host the 2010 Football World Cup further enhances the perfect timing for creating and hosting this premium legacy event in Cape Town.

This is a simple, sustainable project not only creating a long lasting legacy and commitment to social upliftment through sport but will gain in prestige over time.