Volkswagen Group Africa (VWGA) has partnered with the South African Football Association (SAFA) to provide exclusive support to all the South Africa national women’s teams.
The vehicle partnership between VWGA and SAFA marks a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to support the development of girls’ and women’s football in South Africa.
All the national women’s teams, including the under-20 (Basetsana), the under-17 (Bantwana), and under-15 stand to benefit from the partnership over the period.
Brand Head – Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Niels Wichmann, touching on the partnership, said: “Volkswagen believes that in South Africa, sport, especially soccer, is more than just a game as it has the potential to play a vital role in youth development. Volkswagen is passionate about ‘Moving People Forward’ and is committed to the growth and sustainability of women’s soccer.”
Wichmann added that just as Volkswagen automobiles empower people every day to reach their destinations with the best quality of vehicles worldwide, it hopes to empower the national women’s soccer teams to reach their top level on the continent in their respective age groups.
SAFA President, Dr. Danny Jordaan, echoed the sentiments: “We welcome Volkswagen to the SAFA partner family. The pathway of women’s football needed partners that will support football at grassroots through scouts, women’s competitions all the way to all women’s national teams – including Banyana Banyana. Our ability to go far and wide to find the new gems and attend to administrative logistics is important”.
Volkswagen aims to empower women’s football by supporting player development, amplifying community impact and promoting role models to inspire future participation of young female players.
The partnership includes the following Volkswagen vehicles, Caddy Kombi Maxi, Crafter 50 23-seater, Tiguan Allspace and T-Cross.
The growth of Volkswagen into a formidable powerhouse in South Africa’s automobile industry is as a result of good policies and favourable production ecosystem that support the industry to thrive.
Implementation and enforcement of quality automobile policy like that of Ghana can also drive growth of the firm in the West African Sub-Region which could open doors to such significant support to the sports sector in the country.
