Gayton McKenzie Approves R3 Million Lifeline for SA Hockey After World Cup Funding Crisis
- Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie stepped in after SA Hockey faced a funding shortfall that left national players covering World Cup costs from their own pockets
- Both the South African Men's and Women's Hockey Teams will compete at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands
- SA Hockey must submit a Financial Turnaround Plan as a condition of receiving the departmental funding
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SOUTH AFRICA — Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has approved R3 million in departmental funding to ensure that South Africa's men's and women's hockey teams can compete at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup without players having to fund their own participation.
McKenzie announced the decision on X on 23 July 2026, confirming that the money would cover both squads' costs for the tournament, which runs from 14 to 30 August in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Funding shortfall left players out of pocket
The funding follows days of criticism after it emerged that SA Hockey was about R3 million short of sending both national teams to the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup. Players said they faced paying tens of thousands of rand for travel, accommodation, visas and other tournament costs.
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On 20 July, women's hockey player Onthatile Zulu appealed to McKenzie for help, while SA Hockey launched a crowdfunding campaign asking each player to raise R68,137.03. McKenzie said athletes who earned their place at a World Cup should not have to pay their own way.
McKenzie said South Africa's men's and women's hockey teams had already "done South Africa proud" by qualifying for the World Cup as African champions.
He said it was unacceptable that athletes who had earned their place through years of sacrifice were expected to "fund their own participation", adding that representing the country "should never be a personal financial burden."
SA Hockey required to submit turnaround plan
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture will transfer the funds once a formal funding agreement is in place and all governance and financial reporting requirements have been met.
As conditions attached to the grant, SA Hockey must submit a full account of how the funding shortfall arose. It will aso report on how the R3 million is utilised, and produce a Financial Turnaround Plan outlining steps to improve its financial sustainability ahead of future tournaments.
McKenzie made clear that the government's decision to intervene should not be interpreted as a standing commitment to bail out national federations that fail to manage their finances.
The department also said it was engaging federations across all sporting codes to build stronger governance frameworks and avoid similar funding crises before major international competitions.
AfriForum seeks financial records over R31 million World Cup spending
Briefly News previously reported that civil rights organisation AfriForum had requested access to financial records linked to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture's reported R31 million World Cup expenditure.
The organisation submitted a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), seeking invoices, audit reports and other documents related to the spending.
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Source: Briefly News
