Cheetos® signs on as Official Snack Partner for Varsity Football

Varsity Sports has announced Cheetos® as official snack partner for both Varsity Football and Varsity Cup, with the brand joining Varsity Football for the 2026 season, covering both the men’s and women’s competitions, and signing on as a three-year preferred supplier partner of Varsity Cup. The dual announcement marks the snack brand’s arrival into two of South Africa’s most energetic university sport environments, with activations planned across campus launches and match days throughout both competitions.

The partnerships reflect the Cheetos® brand’s enthusiasm for connecting with students where the action is, on campus and at matches. The brand’s sampling teams will be active at stadiums on match days across both Varsity Football and Varsity Cup fixtures, putting Cheetos® directly into the hands of passionate student crowds. Off the pitch, Cheetos® will run “outside of stadium bowl” activations at Varsity Football and Varsity Cup venues alike, creating dedicated brand experiences in the spaces that surround match-day venues.

Taking centre stage at those activations will be Chester Cheetah, the sunglass-wearing, smooth-talking face of Cheetos®, a sly, swaggering trickster whose mischievous personality is built for the kind of high-energy environments that Varsity Football and Varsity Cup deliver. Chester Cheetah will be a key presence at campus launch events across both properties as the new season gets under way, bringing the Cheetos® brand to life in moments designed to surprise and delight the student audience.

“These partnerships speak to the distinctive culture that Varsity Football and Varsity Cup have built around South African university sport,” says Lisa Roux, Sponsorship Manager for Varsity Sports. “Varsity Football blends serious football with the unpredictable, passionate energy of student life, while Varsity Cup remains one of the most-loved competitions in South African university rugby. The Cheetos® brand’s appetite for campus engagement and its instinct for activation-first marketing makes it a natural fit for two properties driven by that same energy, and we’re delighted to be building a four-year relationship with the brand.”

“As Cheetos®, our purpose is to instigate Playful Mischief. As our focus evolves into bringing fun to a key consumer cohort; university students, partnering with Varsity Sports was the perfect vehicle for us to get closer to these consumers,” says Thato Tloubatla, Cheetos® Brand Manager for Cheetos®.  

"Varsity Sports isn't just a sponsorship opportunity; it's a cultural platform where the next generation builds friendships, discovers who they are and creates lifelong memories. That's exactly where Cheetos® belongs. As a brand built on Playful Mischief, this partnership gives us the opportunity to become part of those moments, creating experiences that students will remember long after they've left university." Says Aboobaker Hassim, Marketing Manager at PepsiCo South Africa

Further activation details, including any promotions, giveaways and additional match-day engagement across Varsity Football and Varsity Cup will be confirmed closer to the start of each tournament. Fans and students can follow Varsity Football’s and Varsity Cup’s channels for more updates.