Tis the season of giving at the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture.
Sports minister Gayton McKenzie announced on Thursday that his department will be forwarding the cash-strapped South African Football Association 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.
I couldn’t sit and watch our players not being paid over festive, we advanced 5 million rand to be used to pay all Bafana & Banyana players including their bonuses. We also demanded a turnaround strategy from @SAFA_net , our players made us proud. pic.twitter.com/N7ttdVEuUJ
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) December 12, 2024
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.
On top of that, the payment issues also affected players from the national women's team Banyana Banyana.
Fortunately for SAFA, minister McKenzie in a festive spirit decided to gift the players an early Christmas present.
In a statement release by the department, McKenzie said: "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," said 'Father Christmas' McKenzie.
According to the department, the R5 million advance will be subtracted from annual grant the association receives from the government.
The news of SAFA's financial troubles come on the heels of the arrest of its president Danny Jordaan, who faces fraud and theft charges.
It is alleged that between 2014 and 2018, Jordaan used the organisation's bank accounts for his personal use, including hiring a private security company for his protection, and a public relations company without authorisation from the SAFA Board.
Jordaan and his co-accused appeared in court last week and the case was postponed to February.
IOL Sport