PARLIAMENT: Gayton McKenzie lashes out at Safa and demands R30m repayment

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.

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.

“I have been dragged in the media, and it seems like Safa does not care. Even in the political party I belong to [the Patriotic Alliance], I was called to account for the VAR that I promised the people. Publicly, I said nothing when I was accused of being a liar, hoping that Safa will come to my defence. There was not one statement from Safa,” McKenzie told the committee.

“We then wrote a letter to Safa, which was ignored. That’s where I lost it. How do you ignore me after receiving my money? After I have been nothing but good to Safa? I was highly offended. 

“I then wrote them a subsequent letter, where I said to them they must return the R30-million, with immediate effect. It’s only then, when I got to hear from Safa, where they asked for a 21-day grace period.”

Safa ducks and dives

Despite repeated demands from the committee for an update on the VAR roll-out, the Safa delegation offered no clear answers, repeatedly deflecting responsibility.

The virtual sitting was punctuated by awkward silences as Safa representatives refused to answer direct questions, opting instead for evasive and roundabout responses when forced to speak.

The Democratic Alliance’s Leah Potgieter asked McKenzie why he had sent Safa public funds when it clearly did not have a plan for VAR. 

“We don’t need a study to understand that there is a need for VAR in this country. Cricket and rugby have their own sort of VAR. So soccer needs it. Period,” said McKenzie. “I still believe that Safa has that money in a separate account. So we can always call it back.”

Potgieter persisted in her line of questioning, saying: “I disagree that we don’t need a study. Because Fifa itself requires a full implementation process that confirms readiness in terms of stadium infrastructure, referees and other elements.

“But without that plan, this money was transferred to Safa. It’s not sufficient to say every country has VAR and the VAR is the future of football. That’s not the question. The question was: Were we ready to spend R30-million on VAR? How many other countries have paid over money for VAR without doing a feasibility study? Because now we have seen that Safa is not ready and has not done much.”

Vincent Tseka’s ‘admin failures’

Safa was also pressed on administrative blunders linked to former Bafana Bafana team manager Vincent Tseka, who was central to the Teboho Mokoena suspension saga, which nearly derailed South Africa’s World Cup qualification after Mokoena was fielded while serving a ban.

Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao also singled out Tseka for failing to secure the team’s visas on time. However, according to Monyepao, Tseka blamed the travel delays on head coach Hugo Broos’ late squad announcement.

Monyepao was later ejected from the meeting by committee chairperson Joseph McGluwa (Democratic Alliance) for refusing to disclose Broos’s salary.

The confrontation arose when committee member Eugene Mthethwa (Economic Freedom Fighters) questioned why Safa offered incoming Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane a significantly lower salary than the Belgian earned before his departure last month. DM