The South African national female football team is currently in Morocco to defend their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Off to a rough start, the team had gone on a brief protest due to unpaid match fees by Safa. This came after the team played preparation friendlies ahead of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) title defence in the continental competition, which kicks off on 5 July. However, the matter was resolved, and they are back training. However, Safa has been hit by another burden as Sasol has not renewed its sponsorship contract.
The Petroleum company, Sasol, confirmed that its sponsorship agreement with the South African Football Association (Safa) has not been renewed. Sasol has been the main sponsor of the women’s national team, Banyana Banyana, as well as the Sasol League for 16 years. In a statement, Sasol says the deal ended at the end of last month. “We await feedback from Safa regarding the terms of a potential renewal. Until an agreement is reached, Sasol no longer holds the rights to associate with Banyana Banyana and the Sasol League,” reads the statement.
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They stated how proud they were of the team. “We remain proud of the 16-year partnership with Safa and the significant contribution we have made to the growth and visibility of women’s football in South Africa,” Sasol said. Through this partnership, we have helped enable pathways for young women footballers from the grassroots level to the international stage. Sasol continues to value the important role that women’s sport plays in driving empowerment and inclusion in South Africa.”
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Safa’s current financial situation is far from over since it was reported in 2024 when the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture gave the South African soccer governing body an advance of R5 million from the annual government grant the association receives. This advance has not helped much, as reports of delayed salary payments at their Nasrec headquarters have been a regular feature in the news. At the beginning of June, Safa appeared before the parliamentary oversight committee for sport, arts, and culture. Gronie Hluyo said the association’s current liabilities exceed its assets by R141-million, and the reasons for this deficit include the adoption of gender parity policies for the senior teams, Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.
Bongi Sikelo 