Wits team up with Nike before Chiefs clash

03 August 2011 - 18:29 By Mazola Molefe
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Wits players Sandile Sibande, Stanton Fredericks and Derrick Spencer during a training session.
Wits players Sandile Sibande, Stanton Fredericks and Derrick Spencer during a training session.
Image: APEX-Multimedia

Wits have a new look for the Premier League season, but will that be enough to beat Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN8 on Sunday?

The Clever Boys, as Wits are known, have ditched Hummel as their kit sponsors this season and signed a two-year deal with Nike.

Wits have been operating behind closed doors ahead of the top 8 clash with the Amakhosi, a team that knocked them out of last season’s Nedbank Cup tournament. It’s not often that a team is as good as their kit during the season, but Wits have a chance against Chiefs this weekend to prove many wrong.

If the history of the past few seasons is anything to go by, then Wits have the edge over the Amakhosi. Roger de Sa’s team always gets off the starting blocks quicker than their opposition, but later burn out and – in most cases – run the risk of being relegated from the Premier League. 

The Clever Boys have also lost their skipper Tefu Mashamaite to Chiefs this season. However Derrick Spencer, who signed in January, has enough experience to close the gap.

In an interview with TimesLIVE, Mashamaite said it was emotional having to leave Wits at the end of the last season.

He said: “I was on the verge of joining the South African Defence Force when Wits decided they want me to play for them. That is where I started my career, made my name and even got my BA degree in 2005.”

Mashamaite was a key player in helping Wits win the Nedbank Cup before the 2010 World Cup when the Clever Boys beat Amazulu in the final at Soccer City. He has also earned a Bafana call-up from coach Pitso Mosimane for his performances at central defence for Wits.

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