South Africa, Sept. 5 -- Millions tuned in, hashtags trended, jerseys filled stadiums, and conversations spilled into workplaces and social media timelines.

The scoreboard changed, but the ROI did not, because when it comes to sport, it's the fans who deliver the return.

The MTN8 semi-finals alone generated R50.48m in advertising value equivalent (AVE) across coverage and social media. MTN dominated with 51% share of voice (R25.58m AVE), while PUMA captured 6% (R3.11m AVE) and #WafaWafa secured 6% (R2.95m AVE).

Entity exposure

At the team level, Orlando Pirates led with R6.87m in entity exposure, while Mamelodi Sundowns followed with R5.04m.

Clothing sponsorships, particularly visible through kits, drove massive value.

The results o...