"My 40% Tax Gone": SA Umipressed With Gayton McKenzie's FIFA World Cup Spend Breakdown

• Minister Gayton McKenzie published a detailed breakdown of how R31 million in public funds was spent on South Africa's FIFA World Cup 2026 programme
• The spending covered official travel, a legends exhibition match, hospitality suites, match tickets and cultural activations across Mexico and the US
• South Africans pushed back hard, pointing to underfunded national sports teams and communities without basic sporting infrastructure

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie stepped forward on 20 July 2026 to defend the R31 million his department spent on South Africa's FIFA World Cup 2026 programme. He posted the full breakdown on X, insisting every rand was properly accounted for and in line with the department's mandate.

The total figure of R30,945,370.15 was split across five main areas. Official travel for the minister, his support staff, the Director-General and a 14-member project team came to R7.86 million.

A legends exhibition match between the 2010 Bafana Bafana squad and their Mexican counterparts cost R6.71 million. Hospitality suites in Atlanta and Monterrey came to R3.36 million, while 294 match tickets across three host cities totalled R3.01 million. The remaining R10 million went towards building South Africa's physical presence at the tournament, covering exhibition spaces, branding, sound, lighting and the teams of artists, musicians and chefs who represented the country.

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McKenzie said the world's biggest sporting event, which only comes around every four years, was exactly the kind of platform DSAC exists to use. He added that private sponsors including Brand South Africa, Coca-Cola, HONOR, Betway and Cell C funded the Lucky Fans travel packages, journalists and influencers separately, sitting outside the department's own budget. A close-out report is being prepared and will be tabled before the Portfolio Committee.

South Africans push back on World Cup spending

The public was not convinced. Many pointed to national sports teams that travel to world championships entirely at their own expense, with some players even footing the bill for their own kit on the X page:

@ConCaracal wrote:

"Ah, now I see why you were so desperate to distract the public with your Bokkieweek faux outrage. Instead of R31 million funding sport bursaries or facility upgrades for poor schools, it was used for 5-star hotels and dining out at fancy restaurants. Shameless."

@DSSteyn said:

"The SA Masters Hockey Teams are travelling to Belgium this coming weekend to represent the country in the World Cup. Everything is self-funded. The players even have to pay for their kit. Imagine what R30 million could have done for them."

@Antifash72 added:

"Our national hockey teams are crowdfunding to get their World Cups. What are you even doing?"

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@siphokarabo1 wrote:

"My 40% tax gone just like that. Where I come from, there's no single stadium or park to keep the young ones away from the streets. There is no plan. There is no promise. But we are voting every 4 years."

See the X post below:

More on Gayton McKenzie

• Briefly News recently reported on a court ordering Gayton McKenzie to hand over documents in a separate corruption probe involving misused municipal funds.
• The DA demanded answers from McKenzie's department over the same R31 million World Cup programme, submitting further parliamentary questions.
• McKenzie also hit back at reporting on Bafana Bafana star Jayden Adams' final hours, warning of potential consequences for those involved.

Source: Briefly News