Out of the three, Ngcungama loves the green kit Photo Le Coq Sportif
South Africa – Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana kit sponsor Le Coq Sportif have finally decided on the winning design for the men’s and women’s national team jerseys for the 2023-24 season.
After being heavily criticised for the current Bafana design, Le Co Sportif asked members of the public to submit designs. From the final designs, Lwazi Ngcungama, was chosen as the winner. For a youngster from Port Shepstone who loves sport, being designer of the national kits is a dream come true. His journey of creating kits for local teams has finally culminated in him creating one for the national team.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I started and then I stopped. I started this thing in high-school. I used to draw [designs] on a piece of paper and then I did it again when I was able to use computers and other software back in 2016 … Previously I’ve done concept designs of soccer jerseys. Kazier Chiefs and the likes. Some people knew my design and they told me to enter the competition.”
Inspiration for the national kits
Before every great artist creates his masterpiece, they have to be inspired. For Ngcungama, the inspiration for the kits came from South Africa’s winning past and incredible moments.
“The inspiration from the get-go was to pay homage to Banyana Banyana and also to do it for the people. The most requested jersey was the 96′ one. The yellow one had to include something from 2010 because that was a special moment as well.”
Ngcungama had to borrow a computer from his friend to design the kits. He credits the motivation and help from his friends as one of the main reasons he was able to pull this off.
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A legacy for the national team and Ngcungama
Ngcungama has written his name down in history and is aware of how big a moment this is. It is a moment his family and those who come after him will remember.
“Since it is going to go live obviously they [grandkids] are going to come back and see what their grandpa did. I’m happy at the moment. The family is also happy for me as I’ve already told them about it.”
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The way forward
For Ngcungama, he hopes this is the start of better. Creating the national kit is the highest achievement a designer can get and the recognition for his work can possibly help him to create kits for local teams.
“Only good things from now on. The national team was the highest point. I’ve started from my ultimate dream so I think it’s only going up. What I want to see is my design being worn by the players and other people.”
Ngcungama confirmed there will be a few adjustments made to the current design but nothing major. Le Coq Sportif, South African Football Association and Ngcungama will be working closely to incorporate elements of Banyana Banyana and their WAFCON win this year into the kits.
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