The well-known Italian sportswear brand, Kappa, has sealed a three-year sponsorship deal with the Limpopo-based Premier League team, Black Leopards. The official launching took place at the Meropa Casino outside Polokwane on Friday evening.

According to the sponsorship deal, Kappa will sponsor the team with sports wear, training and travelling kit, as well as leisure wear.

According to the CEO of Kappa, Mr Michael Joseph, his company realised that Black Leopards, who is struggling to uplift the standard of football in the country as well as create jobs through sport, needed financial and resource assistance. He expressed the hope that, through the partnership, the team's performance would improve drastically in league matches.

He stated that it was a smart move for Kappa to sponsor Leopards and said that the sponsorship would boost the morale of the players in the Lidoda Duvha family.

The chairperson of Leopards, Mr David Thidiela, said that the new partnership would enhance the profile of his team. Its quest to secure a financial sponsor was giving it a competitive edge, not only on the field on play, but also in boosting its corporate image.

Thidiela added that Leopards were glad to be associated "with a visionary company that is preparing to grow with a team operating in the underprivileged communities".

He promised the club's supporters that the team would play high-quality football from now. "We will avoid the relegation ghost, who is knocking on our door," he added.