Minister Gayton McKenzie clarifies funding framework of sport in South Africa

In the interests of sport governance and healthy public education, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has issued this reminder of how government funding of both local and international sporting events operates.
 

There have been numerous media reports and increasingly vitriolic public opinion largely driven by opportunistic political parties hoping to use every instance of an athlete needing funding to participate in a tournament overseas, or for a local sporting event needing money, to portray the Ministry as “denying” them funding.
 

The Minister has lost patience with the uninformed narrative being spread, remarking as follows:

“Lazy federation bosses who don’t understand their job, and with no ideas on how to further their sport, think this is open season to run to the media to scream the name Gayton McKenzie, hoping it will get them attention, and perhaps even money.

“Politicians with no idea of how anything works seem to think it will get them votes.”
 

In clarifying the system, it is important to remember that the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture provides financial support to more than sixty national federations.
 

The demand for funding across those bodies is vast. The allocation available to meet those demands, however, is fixed, is voted for by Parliament, and administered in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act.
 

The support provided is meant to provide federations primarily with a funding base to administer some of their basic administrative costs, not the full costs of every aspect of their work. This includes the hefty price tags associated with international travel or the organising and hosting of events in South Africa.
 

It is important to remember that the core responsibility for ensuring the financial sustainability of a sport federation rests with the board elected to govern it. Federation boards are entrusted to draft sound business plans and develop commercial products capable of attracting corporate sponsors. Despite being non-profit entities, federations are expected to operate with similar discipline and foresight as commercial business boards, with the same attention to innovation, accountability and market appeal.
 

Says Minister McKenzie:

“If they wish to raise more money, they need to think commercially, and operate commercially. If they do not wish to raise funds to grow their sport, they should accept that they are offering primarily a recreational activity, or even just a hobby interest, to their participants.”
 

It is not the role of government to render federations commercially viable or sustainable. Government’s responsibility lies in establishing and maintaining the overarching framework that governs sport in South Africa. This includes managing the regulatory environment, the policy direction and the enabling conditions under which federations may thrive. The onus remains on federations to leverage those conditions, build strong commercial strategies and secure the partnerships that ensure their long-term viability.
 

“More can and must be done to improve the operating environment for sport through policy and legislation, and those discussions are necessary – but the majority of requests the Department receives centre on merely wanting more taxpayer money,” adds the Minister.
 

“Election to a federation board is not a ceremonial appointment. It carries a commercial and fiduciary responsibility exercised on behalf of every athlete in that code. If one takes the example of basketball as a code that has grown substantially in popularity in South Africa, its federation leadership was nevertheless unable to establish a viable league or attract meaningful sponsorship for the sport or its national teams.”
 

Following prolonged governance and administrative failures, Basketball South Africa had its recognition status revoked, and the Department is now in a process to rebuild and stabilise the governance of the code in partnership with the International Basketball Federation, through FIBA Africa, and with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).
 

Minister McKenzie adds: “Basketball South Africa has not been the only federation widely accused of letting down their sport’s fans and athletes. Higher standards must be set for people who put up their hands to run a sport. If they cannot raise the necessary resources, they should step aside for those who can.”
 

Where a federation’s audited records, compliance history and performance against its funding agreement demonstrate sustained failure, the Department will act, and the question of recognition is not beyond consideration. That assessment is a documented one, applied through the proper statutory process and in concert with SASCOC.
 

Federations that are performing well and that occasionally require additional funding, however, have nothing to fear from the Department.
 

“Wrestling South Africa is an example of a federation whose allocation was increased for all the right reasons,” adds the Minister. “This year, we funded 34 South African athletes to participate at the Commonwealth Chess Championship in Sri Lanka, along with 54 athletes to participate at the Africa Youth Chess Championships in Uganda. That cost more than R4 million, so investments like these are possible but are not guaranteed and are not obligatory on government.”
 

The Minister pointed out that the state does not directly fund the performances of some of the country’s most well-known athletes when they perform abroad, including in rugby, cricket and soccer.
 

“These federations know they must pay for these responsibilities themselves, and they do.”

The Minister has accordingly called on all commentators to exercise greater restraint before popularising the hyperbolic and entirely impractical narrative that the state is somehow obliged to directly fund every athlete in every sport for every event that may be taking place anywhere and everywhere.
 

“To represent one’s country in a sport is a great honour and a privilege, and it is one federations must continue to realise for as many of our future stars as we can – but it is not a right, and to treat it is as a right would be irresponsible and unrealistic.”
 

For media enquiries:

Ms Stacey-Lee Khojane
Spokesperson: Office of the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
Email: StaceyK@dsac.gov.za  
Cell: +27 77 608 7579
 

Ms Zimasa Velaphi
Head of Communication and Marketing: Department of Sport, Arts and Culture
Email: ZimasaV@dsac.gov.za 
Cell: +27 72 172 8925

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