By OBAKENG MAJE
9 May 2025 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) and PT SportSuite are proud to announce a landmark digital partnership that marks a bold step forward in the digital acceleration of South African and continental football. PT SportSuite will serve as SAFA’s digital platform partner, delivering brand new web and media workflow platforms that will help deliver memorable fan-centric experiences across SAFA’s digital touchpoints.
SAFA CEO, Lydia Monyepao said this partnership represents more than just technology deployment – it’s the start of a long-term vision to digitally transform the South African football landscape, with SAFA becoming the first African national football body to embrace PT SportSuite’s Tier 1 digital media and fan engagement ecosystem. Monyepao said PT’s mission has always been to break down digital barriers for sports organisations of all sizes.
“The partnership with SAFA is a powerful statement of intent – aligning the ambitions of a forward-thinking national football association with a proven technology platform built to support innovation, monetisation and fan engagement at scale.
“At the heart of this collaboration is BiblioDAM – PT SportSuite’s AI-powered media workflow platform, which will serve as the central nervous system for SAFA’s media operations,” she said.
Monyepao further said BiblioDAM will enable the seamless collection, tagging, organisation and publishing of rich media content across all levels of South African football – ensuring SAFA can unlock the full value of its media assets, with full control and visibility. She added that, with automated media workflows, AI-powered player recognition, and a centralized cloud media environment, BiblioDAM will empower SAFA to streamline internal workflows, reduce turnaround times, and make better use of its media to tell compelling stories – from grassroots to the global stage.
“Through this partnership, PT and SAFA will co-develop a fully integrated SAFA digital ecosystem – combining the power of cloud technology, intelligent media workflows and fan-facing web and app platforms to deliver a scalable and future-ready digital foundation.
“The vision is clear: to create a unified digital fan experience that brings together all levels of the South African football pyramid – from national squads, leagues, clubs and sponsors to youth development and regional tournaments,” said Monyepao.
She said the SAFA digital ecosystem will also open new avenues for monetisation through commercial sponsorship activations, web and video advertising, and centralised media rights management – laying the foundation for a more sustainable and innovative model for African football. Monyepao said this is an exciting period for us at SAFA as they finalise the media and content side of their digital evolution.
“Now we look forward to having a public and fan-facing digital platform with our daily news, all national teams, all competitions, coach education and more – appropriately elevated in our brand-new website.
“PT’s AI-powered BiblioDAM will help better commercialise SAFA’s media rights and create a better relationship with fans through enhanced content deployment,” she said.
Monyepao said they are excited to work with a global entity like PT SportSuite with its roots in Mzansi as they perform such services for the likes of Six Nations Rugby, USA’s Major League Rugby and more to take them to the next level of media management in the content era.
Meanwhile, the PT SportSuite CEO, Rich Cheary: “We are energised to join forces with SAFA in a partnership that will redefine South African football’s digital landscape. At PT SportSuite, we craft innovative digital ecosystems that ignite fan engagement, empower communities, include sponsors and fuel sustainable growth.
“This collaboration is a bold step to ultimately transforming the South African fan experience and inspiring a digital renaissance in African football with flair and vision.”
The Guardian 