A R5 million bail out has been offered in the non-payment issue involving Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.
The South African Football Association has been accused of failing to pay Bafana and Banyana players their appearance fees despite both national teams having been doing well on the field.
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It has been alleged that SAFA, whose boss Danny Jordaan was in court again this week on charges of fraud and theft amounting to R1.3 million, is allegedly owing the national team players appearance fees estimated to be in the region of more than R6 million.
In his way to intervene, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie has offered to pay R5 million to be used to pay what is owed to the players.
"Following reports that the South African Football Association (SAFA) has become cash-strapped to pay player's salaries ahead of the festive season, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) has decided to advance the federation with R5 million," confirmed a statement from McKenzie's department.
"Minister Gayton McKenzie wrote to the organisation to offer the advance, with the understanding that it will be subtracted from the grant paid in the 2025 financial year. This comes with the condition that SAFA's leadership would need to provide reasons for why their financial affairs are so troubled, together with a viable turnaround plan to avoid such a situation in future. SAFA agreed to the conditions and thanked the Minister for the intervention," read the statement.
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Meanwhile, McKenzie explained why the bail out was necessary.
"We cannot allow players to go into this festive season without payment, especially since they have done the country proud. The men's team recently qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, and we need them to focus on preparing for this challenge, as well as making sure we get to the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. Banyana Banyana have also led the way, winning the African Women's Championship in 2022 and going deep at the FIFA World Cup last year," he said, as quoted in the statement.
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By Masebe Qina
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