By Sundesh Mahes
CAPE TOWN – Welcome to SPORTS DRIPS for this week. This week, we’re taking a look at the Sport sponsorship arena in South Africa and how clubs and national teams have partnered with major brands.
Kaizer Chiefs, which is our biggest sports brand, are currently celebrating a 20 year partnership with the leading sports brand in the world – Nike. Kaizer Chiefs had partnered with the brand in 2001.
Adidas have been with the Western Province Rugby franchise and Orlando Pirates since the late 90’s. We will take a closer look into the details of these partnerships and how they work for the Sports teams.
SASCOC just signed a deal for the Olympics with Local retailer Mr Price Sport and will be wearing Maxed Sport. Awesome to see the use of local brand at an International event and Tokyo Games is one of the biggest events of the year pending the Covid-19 decision to host.
We will be looking at a few of the most memorial brands that our sports teams represented over the years.
Nike’s has partnered with various sports clubs and national teams in SA – The Springboks, Bafana Bafana but their longest partnership is with the Glamour Boys from Soweto – Kaizer Chiefs. This has to be one of the longest partnerships in Kaizer Chiefs 50 year history.
We have seen some amazing match day kits and leisure wear as The KC Marketing team lead by Jessica Motaung has really set the standard regarding innovation and designs. The KC team has been amongst the top clubs in the world when it comes to Kit design featuring in the top 10 in the world in 2019/2020 season.
This is a partnership which works for both brands as Kaizer Chiefs retails online and has a store at their Naturena Village. Nike must be extremely happy with the sales performance to stick with the club for 20 years.
Nike also has major international partnerships with the NBA (Entire League) , FC Barcelona, Liverpool FC, Tiger Woods and their biggest asset Michael Jordan.
Adidas’s has been seen in the past as a technical partner with SA Cricket, Athletics SA but the two club brands that have been with Adidas the longest are Western Province Rugby and Orlando Pirates.
The famous Blue and white stripes of Western Province or The Stormers (The Super Rugby Franchise) have been an adidas apparel partner for over 30 years and are still currently a footwear partner as they moved over to BLK for their kit sponsor.
Orlando Pirates, famous for their Black and White jerseys, have been sporting the German sports brand since the late 90’s with legends like John Moeti and Marks Maponyane, and today we have Bafana Bafana Captain Thulani Hlatshwayo and Happy Jele in the adidas kit of The Buccaneers.
The Bucaneers have had some amazing new designs in the past few seasons and some very bight colours as their away kit – This season we have the Orange and black which is bold. The two brands have worked well together and the merchandise is available across online and instore retailers nationally. Adidas international partners include Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal.
Puma, The other German brother, have been seen hopping across teams. They had a small stint with SAFA which did not last long but have the top PSL and Rugby teams in SA hailing from the Capital city of Twhane.
The Blue Bulls and Momelodi Sundowns have been seen in the Puma brand for the past few seasons and it’s a partnership which seams to be working.
The Blue Bulls kit for the upcoming season looks amazing and hopefully they keep dominating the local scene as they did last season. Sundowns and Puma launched a new retro selection of leisure wear for the fans which looks like it came straight out of the 90’s and is super cool.
The Brazilians have been doing amaing in the PSL and in the CAF Champions league this season so it looks like Puma teamed up with the two brands which are at the top of their game in their respective sporting codes. Puma has AC Milan and their biggest asset was Usain Bolt and his Jamaican Athletics team which scooped up numerous Gold medals at the Olympics in Rio.
SASCOC has been fighting internal battles regarding governance issues but it is the Olympics coming up. The Olympic Games is the world's most internationally represented multi-sport event, with thirty-five sport types and over two-hundred nations taking part.
The Games are typically hosted every four years but were delayed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.The partnership with Mr Price Sport officially kicks off in 2021.
For the first-time, the South African Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be wearing locally developed athletic apparel at the Olympics’ opening ceremony, as well as on the podium. The four-year deal encompasses the following events: Tokyo 2021, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the 2023 Africa Games in Accra and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
President of SASCOC (South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee), Mr Barry Hendricks shares his thoughts on the new partnership, “It has always been a goal of SASCOC and Team South Africa to partner with a proudly South African brand.
We are excited and thrilled to be partnering with Mr Price Sport - this is a momentous occasion in which Team South Africa will participate in the world’s biggest events, kitted and dressed by a South African brand, a first of its kind.
”M Price Sport is no stranger to developing activewear for multiple sport types and the Team South Africa range covers a host of disciplines. The Mr Price Sport team worked closely with local designers, with expert advice from SASCOC and the athletes, ultimately creating innovative and iconic activewear for Team South Africa. Additionally, they will be making key items available in stores, allowing fans to wear the same kit worn by their heroes as they enter the stadium in Tokyo.
Managing Director of Mr Price Sport, Roger Maingard said: “We are very excited about this new partnership and it is an absolute honour to be kitting out Team South Africa. Equipping South Africa’s foremost, elite athletes in one of the country’s most accessible brands serves as a great inspiration for all. Having young, aspiring Olympians see their sporting heroes in a brand they know and love can only serve to inspire.”
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