Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced Castore as its official apparel partner for the next three years.
The agreement grants Castore exclusivity as the official apparel partner of team kit and products to CSA, its teams, staff and players and as CSA’s official merchandising partner. The contract runs from 1 October to 30 September 2024.
The partnership further strengthens Castore’s presence in cricket, with the West Indies already being supplied kit by Castore and England Cricket recently announced, beginning in April 2022.
It is Castore’s first step into South Africa, a nation which it sees as a key market, given its love not just for cricket, but sport in general.
The full range of kit will be made from unique technical fabrics developed exclusively by Castore for lighter, more flexible and durable kit than anything the team have ever worn before, ensuring that performance through a long and gruelling cricket season is of the highest quality.
The announcement builds on existing partnerships Castore enjoys with McLaren (Formula One), Glasgow Rangers, Newcastle United & Wolverhampton Wanderers (football) among others. Castore has additionally partnered with a number of athletes, with Grand Slam tennis champion Andy Murray, international rugby player Owen Farrell, England cricketer Jos Buttler and multiple gold medal- winning Olympic swimmer and world-record holder Adam Peaty among them.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Castore on board to our team of sponsors and suppliers,” said CSA acting chief executive Pholetsi Moseki.
“Castore is one of the big players in the world of sports technical apparel and they are involved around the world with such diverse sporting codes as Formula One, cycling, football, athletics and swimming.
“As we all know, most international cricket these days is played on the Asian subcontinent and its surrounding areas where climatic conditions are extremely challenging, and it is important that our players have the most comfortable apparel available to allow them to compete at their optimal level.
“Castore is a perfect fit for our national teams who all have major ICC events on the immediate horizon. We look forward to a fruitful and happy relationship over the next three years,” concluded Moseki.
Tom Beahon, founder of Castore, commented: “Adding to our wide range of teams and athletes with a team such as Cricket South Africa’s Proteas is a huge honour for us as a brand and we’re excited to see where the partnership will take us. The T20 World Cup is the perfect way to kick off our partnership, an exciting, forward-thinking concept still in its formative years whereby entertainment is ever present.
“We hope our innovative kit designs can add to the experience of the World Cup for both players and spectators alike. As a brand we’re deeply committed to both marginal gains and performance excellence, so we’ll be working continuously with the team throughout the partnership to produce apparel which is unrivalled across the cricketing landscape, ensuring one of the most decorated teams in world cricket are wearing a kit that is fitting of that.”
