The cat may have been let out of the bag over the weekend, but banking giant Standard Bank confirmed on Monday that it is backing South Africa’s national football team Bafana Bafana ahead of this year’s Fifa World Cup in a big way.
The sponsorship also extends to all national teams, including the women’s and junior teams.
Standard Bank executives did not want to reveal the rand value of the four-year sponsorship deal.
Bafana Bafana will be in the global spotlight as it faces co-host nation Mexico (hosting with US and Canada) in the opening match of the soccer spectacle in Mexico City on 11 June at the iconic Azteca Stadium.
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Standard Bank South Africa CEO David Hodnett, said: “For Standard Bank, the sponsorship is a natural extension of our commitment to South Africa. Football remains the most widely followed sport in South Africa, playing a unique role in uniting communities and inspiring national pride aligned to our purpose – Africa is our home, we drive her growth”.
Yolisa Koza, head of Brand Experience at Standard Bank Group, said it represented a ‘landmark partnership’ between Africa’s largest bank by assets and the South African Football Association (Safa).
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“This is a pivotal moment for Standard Bank, which has operations in 21 countries on the African continent. This major sponsorship sees us back all the national football teams as well as at grassroots level,” she said.
Safa president Danny Jordaan said the Standard Bank sponsorship deal is an important milestone ahead of the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, especially with Bafana Bafana qualifying for the tournament for the first time in 16 years.
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