Chiefs and their banking partners Standard Bank on Monday renewed a five year relationship which began towards the end of 2001, the two parties on Monday signed and extension to their sponsorship arrangement.

In a deal worth the R30 million which runs from July 2006 – July 2011 the banking giant who until recently were the official banking suppliers to Chiefs, will now be the ‘Official Banking Partner of the Amakhosi’.

Speaking at the announcement to the media in Johannesburg today, Lincoln Mali, Director of Standard Bank, “Standard Bank welcomes the opportunity to develop and deepen the partnership with the Amakhosi and their supporters. It makes our brand relevant to soccer fans locally. It’s a way of building and strengthening long-term relationships with our customers. The positive association resulting from sharing this passion for the beautiful game with our customers, and supporting these giants of South African soccer, assists us in building the Standard Bank brand,”

Mali explained further by adding, “Standard Bank is proud to connect directly – through the sponsorship – with the unique make-up, soul and passion of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. We believe this shared passion for the future of South African soccer, up to and beyond 2010, will have enormous benefits for our customers and the clubs’ fans.”

In March this year, Standard Bank announced a R15 million injection into African football over three years, becoming an official partner to the MTN CAF Champions League, and the MTN Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana 2008. The renewal of their sponsorship with Chiefs and The Amakhosi’s arch rivals Orlando Pirates, demonstrates the healthy working relationship the bank has enjoyed with Chiefs.

In recent times Standard Bank launched the successful ‘Halakasha’ campaign, which was run on the eleven language stations in South Africa and was aimed at educating supporters on behind the scenes activities at Chiefs and Pirates. In addition supporters were given the opportunity to phone and stood the chance of winning various prizes.

The bank has further said that they will be using the Sponsorship to tap into the vast resource of the Kaizer Chiefs supporters data base, which they will use to market their E-PLAN and other credit card products.

In addition to the direct sponsorship Standard Bank will contribute to both Chiefs and Pirates an additional R5.75 million per annum, which the clubs will use for various joint marketing initiatives.