The hotly contested local rivalry in South African football comes to a head at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates lock horns in the thrilling Soweto Derby. To commemorate this showcase fixture Nike has launched a special Kaizer Chiefs “Chiefs of Soweto” limited edition t-shirt as an opportunity to show support during this traditional sporting moment on the South African football calendar.

“The “Chiefs of Soweto” limited edition t-shirt forms part of the Kaizer Chiefs 40th Anniversary celebration and pays homage to the Amakoshi and its legends that have contributed to making the Soweto Derby one of the most intense and passionate events in South Africa,” says Anwar Jappie, Football Category Director for Nike South Africa. “As a brand we strive to add excitement around key sporting moments and we hope this t-shirt will assist supporters to really connect with their team this weekend.”

Kaizer Chiefs FC captain, Jimmy Tau

The t-shirt was locally designed by Amicollective, a Cape-based studio specialising in design, illustration, animation and fine art.  The limited edition t-shirt is a collaborative effort where the designers chose to use a hand drawn approach with thick outlines in black to emulate the way Kaizer Chiefs fans hand manufacture their fan gear. It was vital for the design team to give the artwork a human quality that fans could relate to.

“The brief from Nike was very clear with a firm focus on the Kaizer Chiefs supporter,” says Kris Hewitt, also known as Kronk, Designer, Amicollective. “This is a responsibility that cannot be taken lightly, as football fans are not easily fooled and are very knowledgeable about their club. We definitely looked to the fans for inspiration, as Chiefs fans are amongst the most vibrant and well costumed fans around. Their slogans and handmade approach to their supporter gear was incredibly inspiring. This shirt is meant to confront the Orlando Pirates supporters in and out of the stadium, to show the pride and heritage of Kaizer Chiefs and pay homage to the loyalty of the Kaizer Chiefs fans.”

Primedia Sport has acquired the commercial rights to Johannesburg’s most famous football venues.

The appointed agent of Stadium Management South Africa, Primedia Sport is proud to be able to offer exciting new commercial and advertising opportunities at National Stadium South Africa (formerly known as Soccer City), Orlando Stadium and Dobsonville Stadium.

National Stadium is being newly reconstructed, in line with the significant role it will play in next year’s FIFA World Cup. It will boast a capacity of 94,700, and is widely regarded as the home of football in South Africa. Orlando Stadium is the new home ground of Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa’s best supported team, and the stadium was reopened after considerable reconstruction last year.

Dobsonville Stadium has been revamped to seat 24,000 passionate supporters. The stadium does not only host football games, it is an athletics venue as well. Dobsonville Stadium is the home ground of Moroka Swallows.

Along with Rand Stadium, Orlando Stadium and Dobsonville Stadium, both in Soweto, have been set aside as official training venues by the City of Johannesburg.

The opportunities for companies and brands to align themselves with these famous sites and reach the hundreds of thousands of spectators that they draw include:

• Stadium naming rights
• Sponsorships (partners and suppliers)
• Stadium advertising
• Suite bookings

Soccer City in construction for 2010

By getting involved, clients have the opportunity to reap the benefits of association with the sports hosted at these venues, gain substantial media exposure, and / or leverage the direct benefits of hospitality or preferred supplier status by signing up as an official supplier or partner. Continue Reading

The former Bafana Bafana midfielder, who has 20 international caps to his name, put pen-to-paper on the new deal on Tuesday.

He will be available for selection for coach Steve Komphela at the 2009 Telkom Charity Cup to be played at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace on Saturday, where Stars will meet Mamelodi Sundowns in the semifinals.

The former Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United player made seven appearances for Stars in the 2008/09 campaign, having joined in January this year, the last of which came on March 4 in a 0-0 draw with Free State Stars. Continue Reading

Kaizer Chiefs have long been hailed as South Africa’s leading club for being both the country’s most successful and most supported team.

The club has also become a rite of passage for young, great players to wear the club’s famous Kaizer Chiefs gold jersey.  For the 2009/2010 season their new home and away kits will continue to be a desired item, capable of inspiring, joyful and brilliant football both on and off-field.

In keeping the authentic football passion alive, Nike and Kaizer Chiefs officially unveiled their new 2009/2010 home and away kits on field at the revamped Orlando Stadium in Soweto – both iconic destinations considered by many to be the home of football in South Africa.

The notable changes to the new home and away kit will give the Amakhosi a bold and striking appearance to pursue even more success. Continue Reading

The 10th anniversary of the Vodacom Challenge will be further enriched this week with the arrival of three more superstars into the Manchester City camp ahead of the final at Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane on Saturday.

First team regular Nedum Onuoha will join his teammates in South Africa on Monday followed by new signing, striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who touches down on Tuesday following the completion of his transfer from English Premiership rivals Arsenal on Saturday.

The Togo international will jet in too late to take part in Tuesday’s match against Kaizer Chiefs at the Absa Stadium in Durban, but will be available for the final against the winner of Thursday’s Soweto Derby between Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. Continue Reading

Pitso Mosimane is the one of the few young local coaches who has joined the elite group of successful coaches in South Africa. The other one that comes to mind is Gavin Hunt of Supersport United. Like the rest of Africa, we seem to have a propensity to import coaches from overseas, with a few African coaches like Shepherd Murape also having been given a chance to establish themselves.

However, the big clubs seem to think that their coaching jobs are too high profile for local, let alone young local coaches. I commend Moroka Swallows for taking a risk on the relatively inexperienced Ian Gorowa and appointing him Head Coach at Swallows. This raised many eyebrows among the soccer fraternity, and the media didn’t help by criticising the appointment and predicting a gloomy outcome.

This put a lot of pressure Gorowa and the club, and, the minute results stopped coming, the club were forced to sack the novice coach. However, times have changed. One of the biggest clubs in the world, FC Barcelona, entrusted the coaching reigns to Pep Guardiola who had previously been the coach of the Barca B team. Continue Reading

Paraguayan international striker Roque Santa Cruz who has recently signed for Manchester City will display his aerial power and physical presence against Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in the 10th anniversary of the Vodacom Challenge in SA from July 18-25.

27 year old Santa Cruz spent seven years with German Bundasliga side Bayern Munich after which he moved to Blackburn Rovers, where he netted 23 goals in 43 league and cup appearances to be known as one of the shrewdest players of the season.

Santa Cruz, who is at his most brilliant in the attacking position, will play along side the likes of Irish midfielder Stephen Ireland (9 league goals this season), Wales international striker Craig Bellamy (8 league goals this season) and England international forward Shaun Wright-Phillips (5 league goals this season).

Manchester City has also recently acquired the skills of England international midfielder Gareth Barry from Aston Villa (where he made 440 appearances).
Continue Reading

New Kaizer Chiefs coach Vladimir Vermezovic has set his sights on the ultimate win in SA soccer!

Victory over Orlando Pirates in the Vodacom Challenge Soweto Derby at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Thursday, July 23 (20h15 kickoff), will not only guarantee his team a place in the 10th anniversary grand finale of the world-class club tournament against Manchester City, but will also see him get his SA coaching career off to a great start with the passionate Kaizer Chiefs supporters.

“Friendly games don’t get played anymore, and in this era of professional soccer, every game is a must-win,” said Vermezovic, who is from Serbia.

“Playing against one of the world’s richest clubs in Durban on Tuesday, July 21 will be a tremendous honour for me as well as my players, but at the end of the day, Orlando Pirates, in sporting terms, is our age old rival and it is a result that must come our way.”

“The Vodacom Challenge matches will also outline the way in which the players respond to my style of soccer strategies and I am really looking forward to the tournament.” Continue Reading

Orlando Pirates players can’t wait to lace up their boots for the 10th anniversary of the Vodacom Challenge against Manchester City, at the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane, on Saturday, July 18 (15h00 kickoff).

Teko Modise said: “Manchester City is a class side. We have been watching Robinho play since his days in Santos, Brazil and this talented player can do almost anything with the ball. They have other fine players too including Shaun Wright Phillips who has lots of pace. But we also have skilful players like Katlego Mashego, Benson Mhlongo and Dikgang ‘Terminator’ Mabalane.  If we are committed enough on the day, we can win.”

“Manchester City plays a fast game but so do we. As for my free kicks, I am putting a lot of extra training into them and in the new season I am going to try and get even better and hopefully become the best free kick taker in SA.”

“Ruthless” is how Katlego Mashego described his approach to the goal-scoring chances that will come his way against Manchester City.

“We probably won’t get as many goal-scoring chances against Manchester City as we would get in a local league match so we need to be ruthless in our approach to scoring, but the English club have some fine players and I am really looking forward to the challenge of playing against them,” said Mashego.

Benson Mhlongo has made the Orlando Pirates centre midfield his own since arriving from Mamelodi Sundowns at the start of the 2008/2009 season, and is eager to help his club put in a good showing against The Blues. Continue Reading

Kaizer Motaung has done very well as a soccer entrepreneur by starting and growing Kaizer Chiefs into arguably the biggest soccer brand in the country. The same applies to John Comitis who owns Ajax Cape Town.

He’s built this club into a sustainable long-term business with fantastic infrastructure. Patrice Motsepe is a mining entrepreneur who has not shown any acumen in sports despite his noble and very grand intentions.

For Patrice, Mamelodi Sundowns is like a sideshow which he is not giving the attention it needs to be really financially successful. He is just throwing money at it with very little strategy. Then there is Dieter Bock who bought Moroka Swallows and is only seen once or twice a year at the club’s prize-giving ceremonies. Continue Reading