Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana are set to make a return to the SABC’s television screens after it emerged that the SA Football Association (Safa) and the public broadcaster are close to clinching a deal for coverage of all national teams.

Acting Safa CEO officer Russell Paul confirmed that pay channel SuperSport will also be part of the deal and talks between all the parties are at an advanced stage.

“For the long term‚ we are in discussions with SABC and those discussions are very positive‚” said Paul. “At the same time‚ we have also been in discussions with SuperSport around what options they have.”

Paul revealed that a deal between the three parties could be struck in the coming weeks.

“We believe that within the [next few weeks] we will be able to make a positive announcement to the public‚” the Safa boss said.

SuperSport declined to comment and the pay channel said they do not discuss negotiations in public before they are finalised as part of their protocol. SABC had not responded to questions at the time of publishing the story.

The news will come as a relief to the nation’s soccer lovers‚ especially those without access to pay-TV‚ who have watched Bafana and other national teams haphazardly since 2018.

It remains to be seen how the deal will be structured as Safa said in 2018 the SABC owed them millions from the previous agreement that ended in April.