Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Thabo Cele is leading the charge for a new football fashion trend in South Africa, joining a rapidly growing list of international stars who have adopted the distinctive Joga mini shin pads.
The tiny, stylish pads, which have already found fans in top European players like Manchester City’s duo of Rico Lewis and Jack Grealish, Nottingham Forest’s Omari Hutchinson and Chelsea’s Joao Pedro, have officially launched in the South African market, spearheaded by a company with deep local roots. Joga’s products are available on Takealot and Amazon.
Interestingly, the brand’s arrival coincides with the Amakhosi career of one of its co-founders, Ethan Chislett. Joga co-founder Zack Chislett, the brother of Chiefs’ Chislett, spoke passionately about the brand’s philosophy and its connection to the South African football culture.
Chislett explained that Joga was born out of a desire to push back against the commercialisation of the sport. “Joga started three years ago, when Ethan and I were sitting and discussing how football is being washed away,” Chislett told FARPost.
“We’re a football family. My dad played for AmaZulu FC. My grandad played for Bafana Bafana and Durban City. We didn’t like how football was becoming corporate and Americanised and losing its soul. We wanted to bring a product football needs and use that as a vessel to get our message across.”
THABO CELE LOVES THE JOGA MINI SHIN PAD
The mini shin pad, one of over 60 products that include grip socks, gloves, and ankle weights, quickly became the brand’s signature item.
“The mini shin pad was the first of its kind. We saw these footballers hate using the big shin pads. There was nothing available in the market. People were using tape instead of shin pads. We went on a mission and manufactured shin pads, and it went viral on social media almost instantly,” said Chislett, adding how much he used TikTok to promote the products.
The choice of Cele as a local ambassador was intentional, given his input and status in local football. “We love Thabo Cele, he’s been involved with Joga in SA from the start, and we wanted his opinions on a lot of things in terms of the products we wanted to launch,” Chislett explained.
“He was maybe shocked at the start by how small the mini pads were, and he felt everyone was kinda going the same way. He enjoyed the grip socks… Thabo gave us advice. He liked the gold mini shin pads; he’s still wearing them.”
For Chislett, launching in South Africa feels like a personal journey, closely connected to his family’s rich football legacy.
“The timing is interesting with Ethan joining Chiefs, we always wanted to bring the product to SA as South Africans,” he explained. “My granddad’s passing [in January] had a huge influence on us. He brought football to our family. That was a huge thing; we kind of honour him with this.”
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