CAPE TOWN – During a period when major corporates are becoming increasingly thrifty with the sponsorship spend, Cricket South Africa chief executive Thabang Moroe believes his team pulled off a major coup.
CSA and New Balance yesterday announced the extension of the latter’s contract as the official apparel and footwear supplier to CSA for a further five years.
The agreement grants New Balance exclusivity as the official apparel supplier of team kit and products to CSA, its teams, staff and players, and as CSA’s official merchandising partner. The contract runs from 2019 to 2023.
“It gives me great pleasure to announce that New Balance will be our official apparel and footwear supplier for a further five years,” Moroe said. “It is confirmation that a significant global brand continues to have every confidence in our administration, our governance and our players for another considerable period of time.
Dale Steyn is one of the Proteas individually sponsored by New Balance. Photo: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency/ANA
“New Balance is one of the big players in the world of sports technical apparel and they are involved around the world with such diverse sporting codes as athletics, basketball, European soccer, Australian Rules Football, tennis and, by no means least, cricket.
“Their individual sponsorships include our own Dale Steyn, Temba Bavuma, Dave Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Vernon Philander, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris, and Junior Dala. I am sure these players would be the first to confirm that the technical support they have received from New Balance over the years has played an important role in their successes.
“Comfort at the crease is a key ingredient for any successful international cricketer. The demands that Dale’s particular skill requires makes it essential that he can benefit from the industry’s latest technical and innovation advances.
“As we all know most international cricket these days is played on the Asian sub-continent and its surrounding areas where climatic conditions are extremely challenging, and it is important that our players have the most comfortable apparel available to them to allow them to compete at their optimal level.”
The apparel company do not only serve the Proteas men’s and women’s teams, but also do significant work with CSA’s various development programmes, which will only increase going forward.
“A key element of our new deal with New Balance is the greater contribution they will make to cricket development and specifically to our fast-growing Community Hubs and Regional Performance Centre programmes,” Moroe added.