Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder George Lebese recently reflected on how he got into hot water with the Amakhosi management for switching from Nike boots to PUMA.
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The story
George Lebese was one of the most prominent talents in the PSL during his time at Kaizer Chiefs. He was a fan favorite at the Soweto Giants, and had supporters captivated whenever he was on the ball.
His best playing days came were at Chiefs, where made 170+ appearances, scoring 25 goals and provided 22 assists.
After a nine-year career full of success and trophies with Chiefs, Lebese made the surprising move to his childhood club, Mamelodi Sundowns.
This move shocked the South African football scene. However, he struggled for game time at Sundowns and was eventually loaned to SuperSport United, marking a downturn in his career.
Lebese later moved to the United States, where he played for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, and has been without a club since 2021.
In his interview with Robert Marawa, the 36-year-old recalled an incident where he got into trouble with the Chiefs management for changing boot sponsors from Nike to PUMA.
Lebese had worn his new PUMA boots during the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates in a Carling Black Label Cup match in August 2016, which resulted in Bobby Motaung calling PUMA's approach to Lebese "ambush marketing" at the time.
"My issue was, Kaizer Chiefs were sponsored by Nike. At an early age, I was also contracted to Nike but when it expired, I was struggling for boots," recalled Lebese.
"The word got to PUMA and they said, 'Look, come this side.' It was difficult with Chiefs to switch another brand. They told me to bring my contract from PUMA to see if Nike can match it, and if they can't, I was free to go.
"I did that, I went to the office, it was not responded to until the Carling Black Label match and you know how many people tune into a derby. I just surprised everyone with PUMA boots.
"I came with orange PUMA boots and I remember Jessica [Motaung] in the changing room like, 'Why is he wearing that?' and Bobby even said, 'Leave him, we'll deal with him afterwards.' I played with the PUMA boots, I got fined, I then went to PUMA to tell them how Chiefs fined me my salaries-worth and they reimbursed me," shared Lebese on Marawa's 94.7 show.
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Watch the full interview below:
