The South African U21 men's hockey team has tapped into social media to attract four sponsors in just two weeks, easing financial pressures ahead of the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup. This approach highlights the growing commercial potential for amateur sports in the country. Ziyaad Solomons, the team's commercial manager, played a key role in building these partnerships through digital content.
Hockey in South Africa remains a marginal sport, often overlooked outside major events, but recent efforts by the U21 men's team demonstrate how social media can unlock commercial opportunities. In late 2025, the team, under the guidance of Ziyaad Solomons—who joined as commercial manager in September—launched an Instagram campaign that secured partnerships with Snapp.Bags on 1 September, followed by Kecks, ProTouch Hockey, and Science in Sport. These value-based deals provided products like bags and nutrition in exchange for content creation.
"We kind of became this content generating machine," Solomons said. Starting with local companies, the strategy aimed to build trust and visibility, leading to a pivotal investment from Discover Sport just two weeks before the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup in India. The tournament cost nearly R2 million, with the government covering half and the sponsors filling the R800,000 gap for kits.
This success comes amid ongoing financial challenges for the South African Hockey Association (Saha). In 2022, the senior men's team declined an FIH Pro League invitation due to a R10 million entry fee. Hockey operates on an event-based calendar; in 2025, the outdoor men played only three times: in Malaysia, the Africa Hockey Cup of Nations in Egypt, and a test series against India.
The December 2025 test series against world number seven India showed progress for the 12th-ranked South Africans, who drew 2-2 in the second match at Cape Town's Hartleyvale Stadium—the first time in 13 years they avoided defeat. "I think a lot of people are hungry to see hockey at this kind of level," said Saha CEO Phikolomzii Mbuqe. Saha plans to capitalize on this with preparation camps and competitions ahead of the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup.
Solomons, now extending his role to the senior men's team, emphasizes community-building through relatable stories. "Social media is about building community," he noted, not just for hockey fans but for broader audiences. This model addresses the catch-22 of low visibility hindering sponsorships, potentially transforming the sport's future.
