Cape Town - Defending Varsity Cup champions Maties are reportedly set to open court proceedings against the tournament due to its reluctance to approve one of the university’s prospective sponsors.

Afrikaans publication Netwerk24 reported on Sunday that the Varsity Cup ruled that Maties’ planned sponsorship deal with the Namibian Breweries’ Tafel Lager trademark is in direct conflict with the tournaments existing agreement with SA Breweries.

Former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, who is the CEO of the Varsity Cup’s trading company ASEM, said the competition has a lawful and moral obligation to honour its contract to SA Breweries.

Maties, who could lose millions if this sponsorship agreement falls through, have now handed the matter over to their lawyers.

They are also believed to be unhappy with the Varsity Cup’s allocation of the money generated through the SA Breweries sponsorship.

As per the current agreement, teams only get R38 000 per season from the R5 million deal.

Maties won this year’s Varsity Cup when they defeated Pukke  40-7 in the final in Stellenbosch.

They are the most successful team in Varsity Cup history, having won four titles since its inception in 2008.