Absa Extends Totalsports Women’s Race Deal for 3 Years

In Short

• Absa has signed a three-year partnership with the Totalsports Women’s Race.
• The bank will continue as the event’s Official Banking Partner.
• The race draws more than 28,000 women each year across Durban, Cape Town, and Johannesburg.

What Happened

Absa is renewing its support for one of South Africa’s biggest women-only road running events. On 31 July 2026, Absa announced a three-year partnership with the Totalsports Women’s Race, keeping its role as the Official Banking Partner.

The Totalsports Women’s Race runs across three cities each August. For 2026, the dates listed are 2 August in Durban, 9 August in Cape Town, and 16 August in Johannesburg.

Organisers say entries for all three races have sold out. The event is also planning live performances from musician Busiswa at each city stop.

Totalsports, Stillwater Sports, and Absa framed the deal as support for women’s wellbeing and community participation. In practice, these sponsorships often cover on-the-ground event operations and marketing, plus customer engagement activities like on-site experiences and promotions.

Why It Matters

For Absa, this kind of partnership is a brand and customer acquisition play. Large mass-participation events offer high footfall and repeat exposure, especially when entries sell out and the race becomes a predictable annual calendar moment.

For the Totalsports Women’s Race, a multi-year banking partner can mean more budget certainty. That makes it easier to plan logistics across three metro areas, from registration systems to route management and safety.

More broadly, corporate sponsorship is still a major funding source for sports events in South Africa. A three-year term reduces the risk of last-minute sponsor changes that can affect event delivery and pricing for participants.