South Africa: Gayton Mckenzie Lashes Out At SAFA and Demands R30m Repayment

25 August 2026
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Yanga Sibembe

A heated parliamentary session saw Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie demand a R30m refund from Safa, as evasive officials faced scrutiny over VAR delays, administrative errors and coaching salaries.

Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie clashed with the South African Football Association (Safa) on Tuesday, demanding answers - and a R30-million refund - during a heated parliamentary committee hearing.

Fresh off Bafana Bafana's historic run to the 2026 Fifa World Cup knockout stages, Safa officials appeared before the Sport, Arts and Culture Portfolio Committee to debrief Parliament on the team's tournament performance and pre-World Cup administrative hurdles.

Safa was also called to account for the failed rollout of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. McKenzie reiterated his demand that Safa return R30-million in state funding after missing the deadline to implement VAR ahead of the new Premier Soccer League (PSL) season.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

Conspicuous by his absence from the meeting was Safa's president, Danny Jordaan.

McKenzie mauls Safa

At the recent South African Sports Awards, McKenzie slammed Safa for failing to implement VAR ahead of the new Premier Soccer League (PSL) season, revealing he had formally requested the return of R30-million in departmental funding.

While PSL leadership oversees the top two tiers of South African professional soccer, the league remains dependent on Safa to supply match officials.

At the portfolio meeting, McKenzie reiterated his assertion that Safa should repay the money....

Read the full story on Daily Maverick.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2026 Daily Maverick. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.