Question NW862 to the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture
16 September 2019 - NW862
Mhlongo, Mr TW to ask the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture
(1) Whether the Government budgeted for the 2019 All Africa Games; if not, why not; if so, what amount was budgeted; (2) whether there were any arrangements that the SA Football Association (SAFA) would not participate in the games; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details of any agreements made; (3) did the Government assist the (a) SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and (b) SAFA to secure funding to go to Morocco; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (4) who (a) granted SAFA the permission to participate in the games and (b) is responsible for covering SAFA’s costs for participating in major events and/or tournaments?
Reply:
(1) No. The Government did not specifically budget for the All Africa Games.
(ii) Government provide an annual funding to the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).
(iii) SASCOC determines the split of the funds allocated towards various projects including the African Games.
SAFA, which qualified for the games via the CAF process of qualification as early as February already, and as such were not bound by the criteria for qualification stated by SASCOC, which had in any event not been approved by the Members
(i) SAFA (as with the other member federations) had notice in respect of SASCOC’s selection policy for the African Games 2019.
(ii) In respect of delivering Team SA to the African Games 2019 and as per the applicable selection policy, football was not a qualifying code.
(iii) The selection policy had as its basis that only those codes of sport that needed to participate in the African Games for purposes of gaining the necessary qualification to participate in the 2020 Olympics, would be part of Team SA for these games.
(IV) The policy was motivated due to SASCOC not being able to fund a larger team to attend these games.
(i) Government assisted SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to secure funding to go to Morocco. This as part of the support provided to SASCOC over the quadrennial towards preparation and delivery of teams at various multi-coded events including the African Games.
(ii) Given the constrained budget allocated to the Department, the Department could only provide additional funding to SASCOC in previous financial year by cutting the allocation to the Federations. This could not be repeated for consecutive years.
(iii) The time at which SASCOC wrote to the Department indicating the inadequacy of the budget did not allow for any engagement of corporate for possible sponsorship.
(i) Government does not support individual codes for participation at the multi-coded events. This is because participation at multi-coded events such as the African Games is through SASCOC.
(i) SAFA, following an appeal to SASCOC and subsequently the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, were granted permission by SASCOC after the Minister’s intervention to SASCOC, understanding the SAFA appeal and statement of facts around this matter.
(i) The approval for SAFA to participate in the African Games 2019 came from the intervention of the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture. In a letter dated 15 August 2019, the Minister issued a directive in terms of section 13 of the National Sport and Recreation Act.1998 (Act No. 110 of 1998 as amended), for SASCOC to grant SAFA to participate in the African Games 2019.
(i) In respect of costs, SAFA has at all times taken full responsibility for its own costs in all major events, with no support from other stakeholders, other than the related sponsors who fund the relevant teams
(i) With reference to the African Games 2019, SAFA paid for all the registration participation, travel and accommodation costs to attend these games. No costs of SAFA attending these Games were covered by SASCOC.
(ii) Should SAFA have qualified in terms of SASCOC’s approved selection criteria to be a part of Team SA in attending major events and/or tournaments then SASCOC would have met the cost of attendance as with any other qualifying sport code.
(iii) One of the main reasons for adopting the selection policy that resulted in a reduced team to the African Games 2019 was due to SASCOC not being in receipt of the requisite funds to be able to cover the cost of a larger Team SA size.