In preparation for the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia between July and August, Adidas has sponsored Banyana Banyana with boots and bras.
At an event held at the University of Johannesburg, Bunting campus on Thursday, Adidas unveiled its new collection of soccer boots and handed them to the women’s national team players and coaches.
Speaking to Sunday World, Lelona Dewati, a midfielder-cum-striker for the national team said she is super excited about the new boots.
“As a player with ankle problems, these will help keep my ankle comfortable and also help me increase my speed to score more goals,” said Dewati, adding that the national team is looking forward to the World Cup.
“More than anything, we support each other in camp. There are no tensions or competition amongst us as players, we just continue to push and encourage each other.”
Bob Maphosa, Adidas sports marketing manager, said seeing Banyana qualify for the World Cup was a proud moment for South Africa.
“As a brand, we asked the federation [SA Football Association] to sponsor the team where there is a need, and it came in boots and bras to make sure that they are best equipped to challenge whatever may come their way in a platform as big as the World Cup,” said Maphosa.
He added that Adidas has partnered with the association to make sure that the (World Cup) campaign becomes a success.
Speaking at the unveiling of Sasol’s campaign for the team’s World Cup crusade in Johannesburg on Wednesday, coach Desiree Ellis said she hopes to see improvements in defence when her team comes out of camp.
“It’s step by step, every game we go to and every camp we go to we are looking for improvements,” said Ellis.
“In the last game, we had a lot of defensive frailties, especially in set-pieces. This camp is looking at what could have been done better and how we need to defend better against set-pieces.”
Ellis added that as a team, Banyana are also working on their offensive structure.
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