Gary Thompson helps rebrand Zimbabwe PSL

Twine Phiri, the president of the PSL's newly established board of governors, said he was desperate to the get the corporate sector back into football which they had shunned for years due to mismanagement.

“We've got a task ahead (and) we've already started rebranding the PSL,” to make it attractive to sponsors, said Phiri, who flew to South Africa on Thursday, 15 April 2010 for talks with South Africa's PSL leadership for assistance in re-organising and marketing Zimbabwe's PSL.

A launch on Tuesday, 13 April of the league's rebranding, which included a deal with state broadcaster ZBC for the screening of live matches on television, was attended by South Africa's PSL CEO Kjetil Siem.

The PSL will get two hours of airtime every weekend for local football, with two additional hours being made available with support from corporate sponsors.

Phiri, who has already indicated that he will recruit an expatriate as the PSL CEO, said Thompson's marketing agency, A Sport, had been recruited to help in “repackaging it (PSL) to make it attractive to the corporate (sector).”

Thompson runs one of the biggest and most successful advertising agencies in Zimbabwe, Gary Thompson & Associates and has been involved in a number of domestic rebranding initiatives and TV shows. He currently runs a Pick a box show on ZBC.

He was involved with Zimbabwe's music talent show, the CBZ Academy, which identified Eric Moyo who became the first ever winner of the Idols East Africa, a version of the Idol series.