March 4 – South Africa’s men’s national team, Bafana Bafana, has seen its brand value grow since securing qualification for the World Cup, and on the back of this success, Standard Bank has stepped in with a new four-year partnership with the South African Football Association (SAFA). The agreement will cover all national teams.
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has consistently stressed how crucial financial backing is when preparing for major tournaments. For players and technical staff, stability off the field (code for knowing that the check will arrive on time) can directly influence performance on it.
“This investment will be able to give a better formation and a better development to our players, which means that the quality of our players will increase and with that quality, certainly we will have better results, even better results than those we achieved till now,” said Broos.
The partnership also places an emphasis on gender equality. The women’s national team, Banyana Banyana, recently lost 2-1 to Namibia in the Cosafa Women’s Championship final.
The loss exposed concerns about squad depth, according to head coach Desiree Ellis, who believes stronger investment at the youth level is essential.
“I think our junior teams need this more than anything, the under 20s got very close to qualifying, the under 17s are going to camp and that is the pipeline to get into the national team, and that is the reason we use the Cosafa Cup for over the last couple of years to allow players especially to play in the first level of international football.”
Banyana Banyana head to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco this month, while Bafana Bafana will return to the World Cup for the first time since they hosted the tournament in 2010.
For decades, many African national teams have battled financial uncertainty, leading to unpaid bonuses, disrupted camps, and limited preparation time. Talent has never been the issue. Infrastructure and funding often have, the deal with Standard Bank aims to right those wrongs.
Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]