‘Tis the the season of giving at the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture.
Sports minister Gayton McKenzie announced yesterday that his department will be forwarding the cash-strapped South African Football Association (Safa) R5 million to cover Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana players’ salaries over the festive season.
Earlier this month, it was revealed a number of Bafana Bafana players had not received their payments after doing duty in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where the team booked their place in next year’s tournament in Morocco.
The reasons given for Safa’s cash flow problems were debts and owing money to the tax man, while high travel bills during their Afcon and World Cup qualifying campaigns also contributed.
Fortunately for Safa, minister McKenzie says: “We cannot allow players to go into this festive season without payment, especially since they have done the country proud.
“The men’s national team recently qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, and we need them to focus on preparing for this challenge, as well as making sure we get to the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
“Banyana Banyana have also led the way, winning the Africa Women’s Championship in 2022 and going deep at the Fifa World Cup last year.”
According to the department, the R5 million advance will be subtracted from the annual grant the association receives from the government.