Sasol first joined forces with SAFA in 2009 with the aim of growing and uplifting women’s football. Through this relationship, the Sasol League was established eight years ago with Banyana going on to qualify soon after for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
The Sasol League has provided an opportunity for over 3 600 female footballers to play regular competitive football to improve the standard of the women’s game in the country and has also opened doors for female football players to obtain bursaries at tertiary institutions, with 35 of the 46 core players in the national team either studying or sporting qualifications.
SAFA president Danny Jordaan is delighted with the new four-year deal.
“The Sasol partnership has not only changed lives for the better for our football playing community but has provided life changing opportunities for most of our football playing women and girls," said Jordaan.
“Part of Vision 2022 is to increase the number of people playing football to 10 percent of the country’s population. This means more than five million of our population must be involved in the game one way or the other and most of these will come from females. With the partnership that we have entered with Sasol, this goal is likely to be achieved much earlier.”
He added: “For all this, we want to thank Sasol for being true friends of football development.”
Sasol senior vice-president for corporate affairs Wrenelle Stander expressed pride with their involvement in women's football.
“At Sasol, we pursue sponsorships that enhance our brand, inspire creativity and innovation, and create unique opportunities to build stakeholder relationships. As a direct result of our investment in women’s football, the landscape for the Sasol League and Banyana Banyana has forever changed and we are extremely proud of what they have achieved in such a short time.”