Two iconic British giants partnering with South African retailer

·29 Jan 2026

Retailer Old School is quickly growing across South Africa, with the company now partnering with England’s two most valuable soccer clubs, Liverpool and Man City.

Since the start of the year, the brand has announced deals with the two football clubs, having already established strong relationships with SA Rugby, Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and MMA star Dricus du Plessis.

The leisurewar brand was founded by brothers Daneel and Stef Steinmann in a Stellenbosch University dorm room in 2019.

The business started during the 2019 Rugby World Cup, when brothers Daneel and Stef wanted to wear vintage rugby jerseys.

However, they noticed that nothing was available on the market at the time, which sparked the idea of finding out whether others wanted something similar.

The brothers then did an Instagram giveaway for the product, which received thousands of comments. However, the product didn’t exist.

They had copied a photo from the internet and said the jersey was up for grabs. They realised that if so many people wanted to win this jersey, then they would probably like to buy it.

The following week, Daneel and Stef started pre-selling products. As the brothers had other work and academic commitments, Old School would not become more than a side business until 2021.

They launched their first leisurewear collection in 2021 and realised Old School had serious potential.

After partnering with Du Plessis, the brand began to gain attention, and the Springboks’ 2023 Rugby World Cup victory led to increased interest.

The brothers would then partner with SA Rugby to sell Springbok-themed clothing shortly after SA Rugby issued legal threats against them.

The company now has several stores across South Africa’s largest malls, including Mall of Africa, Sandton City, V&A Waterfront, and Canal Walk.

Partnering with the English royalty

Old School has now announced massive partnerships with Liverpool and Man City, which are the most valuable teams in England.

According to Forbes’ latest rankings, Liverpool and Man City are worth $5.4 billion (R86 billion at current exchange rates) and $5.3 billion (R84 billion), respectively.

Deloitte’s Football Money League also showed that Liverpool generated 835 million euros (R15.9 billion) in 2025, while Man City earned 829 million euros (R15.8 billion).

The two clubs dominate the English rankings following sustained dominance of the English Premier League, with the two teams being the only winners over the last eight years (Man City’s 6 to Liverpool’s 2).

As per the five-year agreement with Liverpool, Old School will launch the club’s first standalone stores across South Africa.

Old School will deliver the official LFC Retail experience via online and offline channels, launching e-commerce and multiple shop-in-shops across South Africa in the first year.

Plans are also in place to open multiple official, standalone LFC Retail stores in the country, which will bring the club even closer to its passionate local fan base.

Liverpool is the most widely supported Premier League club in the country, with 12.5 million LFC supporters. 8.9 million social followers and 37 million cumulative TV viewers last season.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Old School to the LFC Retail family,” said Lee Dwerryhouse, senior vice-president of merchandising at LFC.

“Old School’s expertise in supporter merchandise and their understanding of South African sporting culture make them the right partner to bring LFC standalone stores and shop-in-shop locations to Africa for the first time.”

Daneel said that the club’s heritage, identity and strong connection with supporters reflect many of the principles that shaped Old School from the start.

“We’ve always believed that fans deserve merchandise that carries meaning as well as quality, and bringing the official LFC Retail experience to South Africa is a responsibility we’re proud to take on.

“Our focus is on respecting the club’s legacy while delivering a world-class retail experience for the millions of Liverpool FC supporters across the region.”

Shortly after announcing the agreement with Liverpool, Old School announced that it would be an official licensee of Man City.