As SAFA pays R5m for Bafana Bafana

Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane with 

Siphiwe Tshabalala and Katlego Mphela during 

the South African national soccer team kit launch

at Soccer City on June 07, 2011 in Johannesburg, 

South Africa Image by: Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images

*Lessons for Nigerian FA

The South African Football Association (SAFA) has agreed to pay five million Rands for the trademark to the national team’s nickname, Bafana Bafana.

After an 18-year battle with Stanton Woodrush Ltd — which owns the Bafana Bafana trademark for apparel, headwear and footwear — SAFA announced on Friday it would buy the full rights to the name.

SAFA, which had considered changing the team’s nickname, said it would pay the R5 million fee over a 12-month period. The national football governing body entered into a joint venture company in 2005 with Stanton Woodrush — which bought the Bafana Bafana trademark in 1993 — called SAFA Licensing and Management (Slam).

The football body owned 50.5% of Slam, which controlled the trademark, and Stanton Woodrush owner Wayne Smidt held the other 49.5%. Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula had thrown his weight behind the idea to change the team’s nickname, a globally known trademark, rather than buy the rights.

Mbalula said the side needed a stronger name than Bafana Bafana,  which means “The Boys” in Zulu. In March, SAFA said a three-man panel — president Kirsten Nematendani, vice president Danny Jordaan and SAFA executive member  Alpha Mchunu — would look in to a possible name change.

Were this to be in Nigeria, it is the tradition of our FA officials to steal with impunity intellectual property rights. One only hopes that they are learning from smaller African nations how the business of sports is conducted with integrity and dignity.

Can someone ask, in which business does the Nigerian FA has a shareholding. Even the one they had in the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) is now nought because the name under which they so owned it is illegal, non-juristic and null.