Stringent conditions means money can only be spent on athletes, not officials.

The National Lotteries Commission has thrown a cash-strapped Team South Africa a last-minute multimillion-rand lifeline to boost their participation in the Paris Olympics.

But the almost R39.5-million, only approved less than three weeks before the Games began, comes with stringent conditions on how it must be used, the commission told GroundUp.

advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove adsThe lottery grant is split between the Olympic Games, R27.9-million, and the Paralympics, R11.5-million, which is also in Paris and follows immediately after the Games.

A condition is that lottery money may only be spent on the athletes, coaches and medical officials. It may not be used to cover the travel and other expenses of sports administrators or politicians who attend, as has happened in the past.

In the run-up to previous Olympic Games, some athletes were left scrambling to raise funds to make up a shortfall in the assistance they received from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc).

"Attendance of MPs or other officials is not an approved line item for this grant," the National Lotteries Commission said.

It added that it had also placed several former Sascoc directors - who were involved in the <a...