German sportswear giant Adidas is making a long-awaited return as the official kit sponsor for South Africa’s national football teams, Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana, starting in January 2026. The deal, reported by Cash N Sport on Thursday, marks a renewed partnership between Adidas and the South African Football Association (SAFA) after more than a decade apart....Click to Read More >>➤
The announcement follows confirmation that SAFA’s current contract with French sportswear brand Le Coq Sportif will officially come to an end on 31 December 2025, closing out their five-year partnership.
According to Cash N Sport, the new arrangement with Adidas is a three-year agreement with an option to extend for an additional two years, signaling a long-term commitment between the global brand and South African football.
In September, SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao told SABC Sport that the Association’s National Executive Committee (NEC) would review and endorse the new sponsor before an official announcement. “This is a process we started over a year ago, when we knew the Le Coq Sportif sponsorship was coming to an end,” Monyepao explained. “It’s just a matter of announcing now, as we wait for the NEC to confirm our new sponsors.”
Although the NEC met earlier this week, it did not name the new sponsor in its post-meeting statement. However, Adidas itself seemed to hint at the deal in a cryptic Instagram post on Tuesday, shortly after Bafana Bafana’s 3–0 victory over Rwanda, which sealed their qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The brand shared images of South African players Thalente Mbatha and Ronwen Williams, both Adidas athletes, with the caption: “Count us in.”
The upcoming deal marks a homecoming for Adidas, which previously outfitted South Africa’s national teams from 1998 to 2011, a golden era that included Bafana’s 2010 FIFA World Cup appearance as host nation and their participation in the 2002 World Cup.
Under Le Coq Sportif’s sponsorship, South African football celebrated notable milestones — most memorably Banyana Banyana’s triumph at the 2022 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and their qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
If the new agreement is finalized, South African football fans can expect the unveiling of a fresh Adidas-designed kit in early 2026, sparking nostalgia and renewed national pride. For now, both national teams will continue wearing Le Coq Sportif kits during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which kicks off on 21 December.
The deal is widely seen as a boost to South African football’s commercial and global visibility, reaffirming Adidas’s historic role in shaping the country’s football identity. ...Click to Read More >>➤
