SA’s sports federations buckle under poor funding & governance, Parliament told

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has revealed national sports federations are facing major funding and governance challenges.

Briefing Parliament’s portfolio committee on Sport, Arts and Culture on Tuesday, the department said out of the 75 members of the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC), only 60 sporting codes are receiving funding.

The department noted that a total of R98 million has been allocated to sport federations for the current financial year.

However, officials said several sporting codes have failed to submit funding applications, limiting their access to financial support.

The Sports, Arts and Culture department said governance in South African sports remains a serious concern.

The department said 51% of federations do not employ any staff, a situation described as unsustainable and detrimental to proper administration and athlete support.

The lack of funding continues to impact athletes directly, raising concerns about development and international competitiveness.

The department's Deputy Director General Vincent Campbell said they want to start a sport fund, to which private businesses and individuals can contribute.

"Even federations that are doing well with billions in their banks would contribute to this fund to then augment the meagre resources we have as government, to ensure that we give every federation the best possible opportunity in terms of funding to achieve their full potential."

The department said it's working to strengthen compliance and improve governance across federations.