International integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol walked away with the coveted Sponsor of the Year award at the annual gsport awards held in Johannesburg on Saturday night.

Pitted against netball league title sponsors, Brutal Fruit, and national women’s cricket sponsor, Momentum; Sasol emerged triumphant for their role in making it possible for women’s sport to grow and head into the professional era.

“We are very humbled to receive this accolade again, it shows that our commitment and dedication to the upliftment of women’s sport is being recognised. When we began this journey with SAFA, it was not our intention to win awards, but to make a positive change in women’s sport and such recognition further validates our position as the premier sponsor of women’s sport in the country,” said Charlotte Mokoena, Sasol Executive Vice President Human Resources and Corporate Affairs.

“I would like to thank Sasol for their continued sponsorship of soccer development and over the years they have become an integral part of what SAFA intends to achieve in order to dominate football in the continent and eventually, the world,” said SAFA CEO Dennis Mumble.

Sasol currently sponsors the senior women’s national team, Banyana Banyana as well as the semi-professional Sasol League.

The Sasol League takes place across all the nine provinces of South Africa. Matches are played on Saturdays and Sundays in the afternoon and will culminate with the National Championships that take place over a period of one week towards the end of the year.

Aimed at promoting South African women in sport, the annual gsport Awards has been running since 2006, when Atlanta double Olympian gold medal winner Penny Heyns was inducted as the inaugural gsport Hall of Fame recipient 10 years after she became the first double Olympic gold medal winner for South Africa.