CAPE TOWN - At long last, Team South Africa will be wearing kit from a local manufacturer for the Olympic Games.
The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) announced in Durban on Thursday that Mr Price Sport have become the official apparel sponsor of Team SA for the next four years.
The deal will include the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this year, the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the 2023 Africa Games in Accra and the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.
The Tokyo Olympics will mark the first time that athletes will wear locally developed athletic apparel at the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as on the medal podium.
There was controversy surrounding the kit at the last two Olympics, London 2012 and Rio 2016, when Chinese manufacturers Erke and then 361 Degrees supplied the clothing, where the tracksuits in particular were criticised for being oversized and unfashionable.
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Previous Sascoc boss Gideon Sam said after the Rio Olympics that the organisation had little choice but to accept the Chinese offer, as there were no local sponsorships forthcoming.
On Thursday, current Sascoc president Barry Hendricks expressed his delight with having a South African company on board. Mr Price Sport also sponsors the Sharks rugby team and the Comrades Marathon.
“It has always been a goal of Sascoc and Team South Africa to partner with a proudly South African brand. We are excited and thrilled to be partnering with Mr Price Sport – this is a momentous occasion in which Team South Africa will participate in the world’s biggest events, kitted and dressed by a South African brand, a first of its kind,” Hendricks said in a statement.
The managing director of Mr Price Sport, Roger Maingard, added: “We are very excited about this new partnership, and it is an absolute honour to be kitting out Team South Africa. Equipping South Africa’s foremost, elite athletes in one of the country’s most accessible brands serves as a great inspiration for all.
“Having young, aspiring Olympians and Paralympians see their sporting heroes in a brand they know and love can only serve to inspire.”
The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to start on July 23, and the Paralympics on August 24.
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