An official Bafana Bafana jersey is out of reach of most.
South Africans need about 1.3 days of work to afford an official Bafana Bafana World Cup jersey, according to a new global affordability index; for those who can't stretch to the entry-level R1,599 price tag, alternatives are emerging.
This comes as workers are seeing their purchasing power shrink, although official supplier Adidas is offering Buy Now, Pay Later options on fan merchandise. Sportsman’s Warehouse’s offering comes in at almost a grand more, while another Adidas offering is listed at a similar price point.
The World Cup Shirt Index 2026, compiled by Gambling.com, compares the official retail price of every home kit at the 2026 tournament against average monthly wages in each of the 48 qualified nations.
It found that South Africa's shirt costs the equivalent of about 1.3 days of labour based on average wage levels and that the gap between the most and least affordable shirts in the tournament is more than 90-fold.
