Today Jacaranda FM, one of Mzansi’s favourite music radio stations announced it’s official media partnership with the Bulls Daisies – a pioneering South African women’s rugby team based at Loftus Versveld Stadium in Pretoria.
“We have a massive footprint in Gauteng where rugby, like music, is part of our culture and meant to be shared and enjoyed by everyone. To support this elite rugby team where women are gaining momentum and victories, aligns perfectly with our focus on purpose and enabling success.” Says Deirdre King, Managing Director of Jacaranda FM.
Jacaranda FM’s sport sponsorship focuses on aiding these elite women with the media support necessary for the Bulls Daisies to thrive in the up-and-coming field of women’s rugby. The station well known for it’s music and purpose-driven work has been a media partner to the Vodacom Blue Bulls for over two decades, “The synergy is natural and we are so proud to be supporting these triumphant teams that have become part of our entertainment ecosystem” remarks King.
Edgar Rathbone, Chief Executive of the Blue Bulls Company (BBCo) touts the partnership as a key milestone in taking women’s rugby to another level in the elite ranks.
“We have been intentional and aggressive in our approach to ensure that we equip the Daisies with as much professional standard support as we know any high-performance team requires. This includes commercial partnerships that will help us take the work they do and advance it even further,”
“The more people who watch the beautiful game of rugby, the more the game evolves, the more the players evolve, and this partnership with Jacaranda FM will ensure that we get that support for this winning team” Rathbone concludes.
Jacaranda FM wants to bridge the awareness of the sponsorship gap, encourage listers and institutions to get behind the team, and elevate their impact on the world of women’s sport.
The Women’s Premier Division tournament was first played in 2003, two decades later, the Bulls Daisies – named after the Barberton Daisy that first appeared in the Blue Bulls crest in 1938 – became the first professional women’s rugby team in South Africa.
The first professional women’s rugby team in South Africa is now 35 team member strong and Bulls Daisies completed a perfect season in 2023, winning every single one of their games as they claimed the Women’s Premier Division title on a historic note.
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair” – Nelson Mandela
“It’s hard to say it better than Madiba, but music works in much the same way as sport– bringing people from all walks of life together. It can be seen in a rugby stadium or a music concert, and our hope is that this partnership with powerful women will be seen and heard as they forge a new path for women in rugby” adds King.
