THOHOYANDOU – Last Friday was a memorable day for the pride of Far North, Black Leopards Football Club. They received five vehicles from the well-known motor manufacturing company, Nissan.

The sponsorship was launched at the Thohoyandou Town Hall.

During the ceremony the Vice President of Marketing of Nissan South-Africa, Mr Roel de Vries, stated that his company has a major role to play in the development of sports and football in particular in the country. He revealed that his company has entered into the same kind of agreements with two Gauteng based clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Another club that is enjoying the same kind of sponsorship is Bush Bucks. De Vries further stated that they are going to launch another sponsorship with Ajax Cape Town FC this weekend. "We could have easily opted to sponsor one club, but our aim is to develop football and it was not enough to be involved with two Gauteng based clubs, " said De Vries.

"Our attitude towards soccer sponsorship is not to simply support the big glamour clubs. By backing the smaller clubs we play a meaningful role in football development. We have also realized that football adds value to South Africa's business and we want to grow with it," he said.

De Vries filled everyone with joy when he announced that the officials, players and official supporters of the clubs would be entitled to a special discount when purchasing any of the Nissan vehicles. As part of the deal, Black Leopards will get five vehicles of their own choice from Nissan. According to De Vries, the number of vehicles can increase, depending on the club's needs.

During the ceremony, the chairperson of Leopards, Mr Junior Ramovha stated that their partnership with Nissan is the beginning of good things to come.