Bafana Bafana not only got what their coach Hugo Broos described as a “manageable” 2025 Africa Cup of Nations draw early this week, but big-name apparel sponsors are queuing to dress Bafana from the beginning of next year.
The Sunday Times understands that almost all major sports apparel suppliers, including Nike, Adidas, Puma and Kappa and a couple of others from Asia, are eyeing the South African Football Association properties — their biggest goal being to kit Bafana at the Fifa World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico next year, if they qualify.
Currently, Safa has a five-year contract for all its national teams with the French company Le Coq Sportif, but the Sunday Times has learnt some Safa national executive committee (NEC) members can’t wait for that deal to expire on December 31. The last major tournament Bafana will play using Le Coq is the 2025 Afcon in Morocco from December 21 to January 18 next year.
Nike, Adidas, Puma and Kappa have kitted Bafana before and one of them should stand a chance to dress Broos’s side, which was undefeated at home in 2024 and boosted its stock by winning bronze at Afcon in Ivory Coast last year.
Safa NEC members last Saturday and in previous meetings have been advocating for Le Coq’s contract to be terminated. If they had their way, the termination would take place long before the contract expires. Some players, including Banyana Banyana striker Jermaine Seoposenwe, have consistently complained about the quality of the kit supplied by Le Coq.
“There’s no way in hell we’ll ever go back to Le Coq. We’ve sent them 10 key conditions [before] we may renew our partnership, and they met one,” said one Safa NEC member, who also sits on Safa’s finance committee, which takes vital decisions on sponsorships.
“I can tell you that the competition among those who want to be Bafana’s next kit sponsors is going to hot up in the coming months. Every big kit sponsor wants to be associated with a winning team, and we all know how unstoppable Bafana have been under Broos,” said another NEC member.
Speaking to the media on Thursday after the Afcon 2025 draw — which pitted Bafana against Egypt, Angola and Zimbabwe in Group B — Broos sounded confident of Bafana attracting more sponsors between now and the World Cup next year.
The Belgian’s confidence stems from the fact that Bafana had a stellar 2024 in which they lost only one official match in 18 and rose to be among the 10 highest-ranked sides in Africa after last year’s Afcon. “It’s not up to me [to bring sponsors], but I think it’s a good moment now with good results. I hope the association uses those good results to get the sponsors,” he said.
While everyone’s mind was on the Afcon draw in Rabat, Morocco, on Monday night, by Tuesday Broos’s focus had already shifted to the World Cup qualification, which resumes with a home tie against Lesotho and an away encounter against Benin in March.
Nigeria, Rwanda and Zimbabwe complete the teams in Bafana’s World Cup qualification group, currently led by Rwanda on seven points, with Bafana and Benin trailing on goal difference.
Broos said his plan was to qualify for the World Cup and then retire at the age of 74 after its completion in July next year. He said he’d have plenty of time to study their Afcon opponents during the year, as they will also be trying to qualify for the World Cup.
With three South African clubs — Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Stellenbosch FC — in the last 8 of both the Caf Champions League and Confederation Cup, Broos is excited about the growing pool of players gaining valuable experience on the continent.
Broos added that the involvement of South African players in the Fifa Club World Cup in the US later this year will help Bafana players in attaining more international experience ahead of the 2025 Afcon and the World Cup.
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