By Justin Asher
Once a bowler and batsman for the Herzlia first team, and known for his Provincial table tennis achievements, David Brooke is now the Brand and Sponsorship Manager of Western Province Cricket.
Many kids grow up wanting to be accountants, architects, astronauts, and lawyers but few have ambitions of working behind the scenes in sports administration. This is where David Brooke, a graduate of the matric class of 1999 differs from your average schoolboy.
After scoring his share of runs as Herzlia’s favourite all-rounder, he found himself leaving school with his eye on sport as a career. Having finally made peace with the fact that his bowling skills in cricket just weren’t up to professional levels, and knowing he would never be selected for the National side, Brooke turned his attention to searching for jobs in the sport industry, holding a bachelor’s degree from UCT in Film and Media Studies.
In 2003, he began sourcing and editing sport stories for one of the biggest online news portals at the time, iafrica. But his career took him on a different path in 2005 when he began working for Big Brother UK and their production company, Endemol.
The former Herzlian made a sporting comeback in 2008, occupying the role of Commercial Manager for Sport24, part of the 24.com group; and in February 2012 he took on the same title — this time with world-renowned football agent Mike Makaab and his sports marketing and player management agency, Prosport International.
While many from the class of 1999 moved on to become architects, accountants, and lawyers — sorry there were no astronauts that we know of — Brooke slowly but surely clawed his way toward his dream job. During his time at Prosport, Dave finally began to get a taste for professional cricket as he took on the task of managing several high-profile local cricketers. But in 2016, 13 years after he edited his first story for iafrica, he finally got the job he was after.
For many years as a young cricket fanatic, Brooke would be found wandering the corridors of the Newlands Cricket stadium, often with a minutely-sized cricket bat and a permanent marker, in search of someone — anyone — he could get to autograph his souvenir. But now, it’s a different type of stride he’s taking through a distinctive type of corridor. This time, he does it in a suit and tie through the corporate office and executive suites of the Newlands Cricket Ground, as the Brand and Sponsorship Manager of Western Province Cricket.
Dave’s about to celebrate six years in the role and no day is ever the same. Most recently, he brought a new naming rights partner onboard which now sees Six Gun Grill Newlands hosting the Mumbai Indians’ Cape Town franchise SA20 Cricket League — a new cricket spectacular set to reignite the country’s passion and support for local cricket, and David is right at the forefront of it all.
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that this job trumps being an astronaut. At least for David Brooke.
• Published in the October 2022 Digital Edition – Click here to read it.
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