The South African Broadcasting Association (SABC) and the South African Football Association (SAFA) have finally reached a four- year deal that will see Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana matches broadcast on terrestrial television.

The agreement will start with live coverage on SABC 1 of Bafana’s Nelson Mandela Challenge clash with Mali. The deal includes all three of Bafana’s home matches in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying group stages, though it does not include the away games, as Safa do not own the rights to those.

The four-year agreement will cover: 6 Bafana Bafana matches, 5 Banyana Banyana home friendly matches, inclusive of the Winnie Mandela Challenge, a weekly SAFA magazine show, SAFA annual awards and domestic competitions including U19 & U20 Women’s National final Futsal and Beach Football National Championships FINALS as well as the SASOL Women’s League Finals and various SAFA National Women’s League matches;

“As SAFA, we are pleased to have finally come to an agreement with the public broadcaster which is in the public interest and the good of the game. After protracted negotiations, it is great that the public will once again get to watch Bafana Bafana, Banyana Banyana and other national teams matches on SABC, in addition to various other important football development programmes, that has seen SAFA make a major impact on football on the continent” said Safa president Danny Jordaan.

SABC’s group chief executive officer Madoda Mxakwe said: “In negotiating this deal with Safa‚ the SABC needed to find a balance between fulfilling its public mandate and entering into an agreement which was commercially viable.

‘‘We understand the role we play in promoting sports of national interest and inspiring the next generation of sports stars.”