PUMA has signed a multi-year deal with Athletics South Africa (ASA) which will see all team SA athletes in PUMA for the first time at the 2020 Africa Cross Country Championship in April.
PUMA, as the official sponsor of ASA, has acquired branding rights, licensing rights and the opportunity to create experiential moments and pop-up retail at ASA Junior and Senior Champs, to bring excitement and energy to these events in a PUMA style. All SA athletes will wear PUMA kits at all IAAF events, but the deal does not include the Olympic Track & Field team.
PUMA has a long and rich history in Track & Field, having sponsored the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association since 2002. The brand also kits out several national federations including Cuba, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Norway, Switzerland and Portugal. Individual athletes include Usain Bolt, World Champion long jumper Tajay Gayle, World Champion 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm, pole vault star Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, triple Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse, and triple jumper Will Claye. South Africa stars Luke Davids, Thando Roto, Hericho Bruintjies, Rikenette Steenkamp, Wenda Nel and Gena Lofstrand.
PUMA also launched the School of Speed in 2016. Headed by the World’s Fastest Man, Usain Bolt, the thrilling school athletics series aims to identify exceptional young South African Track & Field athletes.
“Track and field has always been a part of PUMA’s heritage and we are proud to be able to collaborate with the South African athletics federation, outfit one of the world’s leading teams and help to develop athletes for tomorrow’s success,” says Pascal Rolling, Head of Sports Marketing Running for PUMA.
ASA President Aleck Skhosana said: “It’s a pleasure for ASA to partner with one of the most renowned brands in the world. In particular we are excited that our new partner, PUMA, is in familiar territory in terms of sporting discipline and the athletes that they are sponsoring in South Africa. We look forward to a cordial, long-term relationship”.
