KASI FLAVOUR10: Honouring South Africa’s Football Culture and Legacies Through Archiving and Preservation

From the dusty fields and lively streets of South Africa’s vibrant townships to the crisp, freshly cut, green grass of world-class stadiums, Kasi Flavour10 has transcended and reclaimed South Africa’s football culture and heritage. Deeply rooted in South Africa’s football history, Kasi Flavour10 bridges the gap between South Africa’s past and present through archiving and preserving South Africa’s football culture and legacies.

Founded by creative director Kabelo Kungwane, Kasi Flavour10 is a creative agency that merges the art of fashion, photography and design and attempts to celebrate and honour South Africa’s football culture. 

“At Kasi Flavour10, we use creativity and self-expression to tell the stories of players on the field, which is done by means of writing, photography and fashion”, Kabelo shares.

Kasi Flavour10 meticulously explores the various testimonials and periods of South Africa’s football heritage. As a time capsule, the creative agency documents and pays homage to football figures and supporters who have paved the way for generations to come.

Inspired by Kabelo Kungwane’s late father and professional football player Isaac ‘Shakes’ Kungwane, the vernacular term Kasi Flavour describes the distinct play-style of legendary footballers like Shakes Kungwane, Eprahim ‘Jomo’ Sono, Doctor ‘16V’ Khumalo, and Emmanuel ‘Scara’ Ngobese. Kasi means township, and Flavour means taste or style. Most South African football players were from the Kasi (township), which was evident in how they played football. Like ‘Ginga’ in Brazil, Kasi Flavour is how football players expressed themselves on the field or street.

Built on the legacies of those who are from the Kasi, Kasi Flavour10 has cultivated a community that thrives on authenticity and relatability. Not only do audiences resonate with Kasi Flavour10 because it embodies sweet memories of nostalgia, but audiences resonate with Kasi Flavour10 because it is accessible and inclusive. 

“Apart from the work we do, Kasi Flavour10 hosts football tournaments, as well as panel talks and discussions about football and the culture of football, all of which embraces the idea of community”, Kabelo notes during our interview.

Passionate about his craft, Kabelo Kungwane has reshaped and revived South Africa’s football culture and heritage, asserting himself as a cultural innovator permeating through the boundaries and borders of the world.

As an innovator at the forefront of South Africa’s football culture, we spoke to Kabelo Kungwane about his creative agency Kasi Flavour10, discussing the importance of archiving community and authenticity. 

Tell me about yourself. Who is Kabelo Kungwane? 

I am Kabelo Kungwane, born and raised in Alexandra, Johannesburg. I am the founder and creative director of Kasi Flavour10.

As the founder and creative director of Kasi Flavour10, do you mind telling us what Kasi Falvour10 is?

Kasi Flavour10 is a creative agency that highlights South Africa’s football identity and culture. Growing up (then and now), kids would play soccer as a way to express themselves through the style of play. In Brazil, they call it ‘Ginga’. When you see players like Ronaldinho, Pele or Neymar dribbling and expressing themselves on the field without any limitations. That’s how they won the World Cup, and that’s how we won our first AFCON cup because we were expressing ourselves.

At Kasi Flavour10, we use creativity and self-expression to tell the stories of players on the field, which is done by means of writing, photography and fashion.

What inspired you to create Kasi Flavour?

I think it was something that was very organic. I come from a football background; my father was a professional football player.

And you know when you’re young, and you look up to your father, he was my idol. I was exposed to football at a very young age, and with that, I fell in love with the sport and game. 

Growing up, especially in my teen years, I developed other interests. I was always very creative. I style, direct, photograph and I write. So I have managed to merge my two interests; football and the creative arts.

All in all, my creative side inspired me to create Kasi Flavour10. 

As you just mentioned, Kasi Flavour10 is a brand that facilitates merging football culture with fashion and style. Considering how these entities are from completely different spheres, why was it so necessary for you to combine the culture of football with the art of fashion?

We don’t have something like Kasi Flavour10. We don’t have platforms like this that actually celebrate our football culture the way we do it as a company at Kasi Flavour10. Kasi Flavour10 celebrates South African football culture through archiving football history, which, to us, is very important because we are a football-loving country.

That said, there are still so many things to do within football, even if you’re not playing professionally; if you still love the game and still have that passion, you can still contribute to the culture and game of football through art, photography and writing.

So it’s very important for us at Kasi Flavour to combine football with the creative arts to not only inspire, but to show people that you can be something else other than being a football player.

Why the name Kasi Flavour10?

The name Kasi Flavour10 comes from iKasi (meaning township) and iFlavour (meaning style or taste). [Kasi Flavour] refers to the style and way in which many of these professional footballers play soccer. Most professional footballers (in South Africa) are from the kasi, which is noticeable by their style of play. This style is how Jomo Sono, Shakes Kungwane and Scara Ngobese grew up playing. This was where they came from, iKasi.

When did your love for the creative arts start?

My love for the creative arts started in 2012 after High school.

Apart from celebrating football culture through fashion, Kasi Flavour also emphasizes preserving and archiving the football culture in South Africa. What was it so important for you to display this?

Archiving means a lot to Kasi Flavour10 as a creative agency because that’s where and how we do most of our research. Research helps a lot with consulting with brands or the people we work with.

In addition to this, archiving allows us to celebrate and preserve the legacies of South African football culture.

With Kasi Flavour 10, how have you cultivated a sense of community?

Apart from the work we do, Kasi Flavour10 hosts football tournaments, as well as panel talks and discussions about football and the culture of football, all of which embraces the idea of community.

Since its inception, Kasi Flavour10 has collaborated with various notable brands like Nike South Africa, Puma South Africa, Soccerbible, Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, adidas and Grace Wales Bonner. With that said, what is the one thing that you look for when collaborating with brands?

The one thing we look for is authenticity in the projects we do. Being authentic sets you apart, especially when you stay true to yourself and what you do. I personally don’t like copying other people, so we’re always trying to push boundaries by staying authentic to our stories. 

 What do you hope to achieve with Kasi Flavour in the next five years?

We want to continue being a creative agency and employ people who are not only interested in the sport (soccer) but the culture too. We would also like to help footballers from a management and brand side of things. 

Apart from that, we will still be making clothes and releasing collections.

We are also looking at dropping a Kasi Flavour10 hard copy magazine twice a year.

What do you hope audiences take away from every collaboration and collection released?

We hope audiences are inspired, inspiring others to tell their stories through the art of fashion and photography. With every collection released, our supporters have shown us a lot of love. They get us, and we appreciate all the support.

Which brands or people would you like to collaborate with? (locally and internationally)

There’s so many hey!

So we’re currently collaborating with Wanda Lephoto. He is a good friend of mine. We started Sartists together. He also has his own luxury fashion brand, and he too has a football story with his dad that we’re working on.

We wish to do an international collaboration with the adidas Samba campaign, as well as working with their international athletes such as Lionel Messi, Serge Gnarby and David Alaba.

Another dream collab would be working with FIFA to document football culture around the world, as well as working with EA Sports FC.

And I think one day, these dreams will come true.

You mentioned earlier that your love for soccer comes from your dad Shakes Kungwane, who was a professional football player. Kasi Flavour10 is built on the premise of your love for South Africa’s football culture. However, would you be open to include other sports like boxing, rugby, netball, cricket or tennis?

I think it’s better to focus on football because it’s what I and many other people love and understand.

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