Team SA athletes heading to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be kitted out by local manufacturer Mr Price Sport.
The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) said on its website it had signed a four-year deal.
“The Mr Price Sport team worked closely with local designers‚ with expert advice from Sascoc and the athletes‚ ultimately creating innovative and iconic activewear for Team SA‚” said the statement.
They will also make “key items” that will be available in stores for fans.
The deal comes as good news for cash-strapped Sascoc and the athletes who are still waiting to hear if they’ll have to contribute to the trip to Tokyo.
Sascoc had budgeted R9.46m for outfitting for the Olympics and R1.9m for the Paralympics.
The statement didn’t disclose the value of the deal‚ but it should take a fair chunk off the estimated R50‚000 per Olympic athlete price tag.
How much athletes and federations will have to pay in could depend heavily on what Lotto decides to contribute towards the R45m requested by Sascoc just for the Olympics.
The Paralympics budget came in at just under R18m.
It’s also not clear how much the government will contribute‚ if anything.
Finance minister Tito Mboweni made no mention of special payments for the Olympics and Paralympics.
The budget documentation detailing sport‚ arts and culture suggests Sascoc will get a slight increase from the government in the new financial year‚ from R11.3m to R11.7m‚ while the amount allotted to sports federations is set to climb from R112.7m to R114.1m.
The SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport is set for an increase from R26.3m to R28.1m.
Boxing SA‚ which regulates the professional arm of the sport and once used to be entirely self-funded through sanctioning fees and other avenues‚ is also set for an increase, from R18m to R19.2m.
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