SA had to fork out R27.9m for athletes to show their mettle at Olympics – Gayton McKenzie

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie revealed this week that government spent millions of rands for the country’s top athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

This disclosure comes in response to a parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance (DA) MP, Joseph Job McGluwa.

McKenzie reported that while exact costs per athlete were still being calculated, the budget for Team SA’s support, preparation, and delivery to the Olympics tallied up to R27,892,000.

He said this amount only covered costs related to athletes and technical support for the 146 South African Olympic team.

“The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee in their response has indicated that invoices are still being processed for the Olympic Games and are therefore unable to quantify the cost per athlete at the time of this response,” said McKenzie.

In addition to athlete-related expenses, it was revealed that the government allocated R1,805,335.74 for official travel to the Olympics.

This budget covered eight officials, including the minister himself, who attended the Games.

“No other officials from the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture (DSAC) traveled to the Olympics,” McKenzie emphasised.

The total expenditure, combining athlete support and official travel, amounts to nearly R30 million.

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Project 300

Despite this considerable investment, South Africa’s performance at the Paris Olympics was modest compared to some nations with similar-sized delegations.

The 146 South African athletes secured six medals, including one gold. In contrast, New Zealand, with 195 competitors, claimed 20 medals, ten of which were gold.

In light of these results, McKenzie announced an ambitious plan called “Project 300” aimed at doubling South Africa’s Olympic team size for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

This initiative seeks to increase the number of athletes from the current 150 to 300, matching countries like New Zealand despite South Africa’s much larger population.

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Funding for Gayton’s ambitions

McKenzie previously outlined plans to fund this expansion through various sources.

He publicly committed to this goal, saying, “I want to publicly say this today, as South Africa, we have the responsibility to take no less than 300 Olympians to the Games in 2028. It’s a promise, I am going to make it happen.

“We are going to take money from our department. We spoke to Lotto, we spoke to SuperSport, we are speaking to different companies that are willing to put money into Project 300 where we are going to search for talent in South Africa,” the minister explained.

The minister said he saw this investment as necessary to uncover hidden talent across the country, particularly in rural and underprivileged areas.

While the exact cost of this expanded program has not been disclosed, it is likely to significantly exceed the current expenditure on Olympic participation.

This raises questions about the return on investment for such a large-scale sporting initiative, especially in a country facing numerous socio-economic challenges.