Budget cuts threaten SA Olympic ambitions amid lost training time

Budget cuts to South African sport federations are threatening the country's Olympic ambitions.

Swimming South Africa Operations Manager, Mafata Modutoane, says funding reductions have delayed the rollout of Project 350, an initiative aimed at preparing 350 South African athletes for the Olympic Games in two years.

Modutoane was speaking during a briefing by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee.

The department outlined the state of national federations, highlighting serious financial challenges affecting athlete support.

South African sporting federations were hit by budget cuts totalling about R40 million last year.

Athletics and swimming lost up to 60% of their funding, while SASCOC and several other bodies received no funding at all.

Mafata Modutoane says athletes have already lost a full year of high-performance training due to the cuts.

"One would have wanted a clear deliberation from the department as to how are they going to mitigate the loss of a year that needs to deliver athletes at the Olympics."

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture says collaboration between government and federations will be critical to getting preparations back on track.

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