Fifa presidential candidate Tokyo Sexwale will look into the possibility of national teams bearing sponsors’ logos on their shirts – should he be successful in his bid to replace Sepp Blatter at the head of football’s world governing body.
According to the Reuters news agency, Sexwale (pictured) said he would “seriously explore the possibility of the national jersey, as happens in other sporting codes, bearing the logo of the main sponsor – not only the jersey-maker as is currently the case.”
He added: “There is space there for much value worth millions of dollars which will be destined directly into FAs’ (national football associations’) coffers.”
The 62-year-old was speaking at the unveiling of his election manifesto, with his comments on shirt sponsorship the standout point.
Shirt sponsorship is ubiquitous in club football, but national sides currently only display their sponsors’ branding on training jerseys, with the logos of kit manufacturers present on playing shirts.
A South African businessman and former political prisoner, Sexwale is running for the Fifa presidency alongside former Fifa vice-president Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, the Jordan federation head; Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa; former Fifa official Jerome Champagne and Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino.
Blatter’s replacement will be decided by a vote on February 26 next year.