2 December 2008

Joma relishes SA presence

Spanish sport apparel firm Joma is delighted with the recent introduction to South African football, says country manager Muhammad Mota.

Speaking exclusively at Soccerex 2008, Muhammad said that there was no better time to enter into the South African football market than now.

Question:"What were Joma's motivation to become involved with South African football and particulalrly Maritzburg United?"

Muhammad Mota (MM): "South Africa is 'THE' place to be in terms of world football at the moment, and it was only logical that we become involved in making a presence for Joma here as well. Maritzburg United are our home team and what better place is there to make an impact than first at home. The team has a growing fan base which we are looking at making a prototype for the rest of the country. United have a good brand synergy with the city of Maritzburg and we thought this was a good basis on which to start our expansion into the rest of South Africa.

Question: "What kind of synergy is this between the team and the city?"

MM: "The city has branded itself as the 'city of choice', whilst Maritzburg are also known as the 'team of choice'. It therefore made sense for us to become the 'apparel of choice'."

Question: "How different are you positioning your items in comparison to the more established products in the marketplace."

MM: "We pride ourselves on quality and craftmanship. Joma is not only about enetering into the South African market and then letting standards drop because we have clinched the deals we want. Our goal is to expand quickly whilst also making sure that we maintain the standards that we promised and also making sure that we improve on the delivery we have made so far to the teams and to our cutomers."

Question: "How active are you on the international stage.”

MM: " JOma was established in in 1965 by Fructuoso López, and now has subsidiaries in the USA, Mexico, Panama, Hong Kong, Italy, Germany and the UK, with a distribution network in over 28 countries. We are currently the official kit supplier for Sevilla, Getafe, Cardiff City F.C., Perak, Charlton Athletic, FK Vojvodina Novi Sad, Racing de Santander and Independiente Medellin amongst other football clubs. We are also the official kit supplier for the Andorra, Honduras, Guinea-Bissau and Nicaragua national football teams."

Question: "Who amongst the world's leading players are your brand ambassadors."

MM: "Frederick Kanoute (Mali and Sevilla) is our leading ambassador, amongst others. He is a proven goalscorer who has played in some of world's leading leagues, and what a humble and religiuos person he is. We had lunch with him just before Soccerex, and he was telling us about the work he is doing in Mali through his foundation. Africa should really be proud to have a man such as him representing the continent on the global stage. Other players on the Joma individual roster include Pablo Redondo, Luis Helguera, Luis García , Scott Parker, Ricardinho, Gilberto Martínez and Paulo Wanchope "

Read more about Joma at www.joma-sport.com

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