The Carling Black Label Cup, hosted by SAB’s Carling Black Label and supported by Caxton Media’s FoneWorx, took a simple idea and turned it into a social catalyst that reframed local soccer and redefined the role of football fans.

It was the year following the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, and there was a slump on the local soccer front. The sport needed an injection, something to get the fans excited about the teams and the players again.

Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and ad agency Ogilvy (then Ogilvy & Mather) collaboratively conceptualised a soccer championship where the fans could choose the starting lineup, and win a chance to coach their team in the event.

A sponsor was found in Carling Black Label, which in turn brought Caxton Media’s FoneWorx onboard to handle the technical mechanics of consumers voting for players and entering the Be the Champion Coach competition.

This partnership has endured, with two companies working together. The collaboration has evolved with the campaign, reflecting steady growth and a shared commitment to its success.

“We know that every football fan thinks that they can make a better decision than the coach on the side of the field. That they can select a better starting lineup, make a better substitution at the right time. So we tapped into that singular, powerful idea and gave the fans a voice,” explains Khwezi Vika, marketing manager of Carling Black Label, in the new documentary.

“The fans live and breathe these teams. We believed as SAB that we needed to financially support this idea through sponsoring the Carling Cup,” says Grant Perreira, former brand director for Carling Black Label, in the documentary. “This campaign was remarkable for the time because it used the technology that was available then to allow fans to access their favourite teams and potentially be the champion coach on the day of the game. This was something that had never been done before. It was truly groundbreaking.”

David Boesch, senior account executive at Caxton Media’s FoneWorx, was part of the campaign’s founding technical team, and still works on it today. He describes it as the Grand Prix of branded campaigns, given its outstanding customer engagement results over the years. The campaign was carried by FoneWorx’s USSD solution with packaging and web integration.

Boesch, Perreira and Vika are interviewed in the piece alongside Neo Makhele, chief strategy officer at Ogilvy; Steve Komphela, senior coach, Mamelodi Sundowns; Football Club; Jessica Motaung, marketing and commercial director, Kaizer Chiefs Football Club; Itumeleng Khune, football legend and Kaizer Chiefs captain at the time; Felicia Ntisa, MD of M-Sports Marketing; sportscaster Thomas Mlambo; and Chiefs and Pirates fans.

Together they paint a picture of the early days of the campaign and the challenges in convincing the coaches to support the idea, how it captured the imagination of South Africa’s biggest soccer supporters, and how it went on to change their lives.

“The documentary tells the incredibly story of this trailblazing initiative and how it was brought to life through so many dedicated players, including FoneWorx, which has powered the tech that has enabled Carling Cup fans to call the shots for a decade and a half,” Boesch explains.

He adds that this campaign is just one example of how Caxton Media reaches the heart of South Africa’s local communities through its targeted, collective media solutions.

The Champion’s Call is a two-part documentary that was screened on 22 and 29 November 2025 on SABC 1.