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A sharp decline in revenue has forced the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) to spend wisely when using its diminished funds for the benefit of its Operation Excellence programme.
This is part of the beleaguered federation’s turnaround strategy after a tumultuous past two years, during which it was beset by allegations of maladministration and financial mismanagement.
Operation Excellence was established by the governing body in 2009 to help prepare for major international competitions, in this case for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Sascoc’s acting chief financial officer, Ravi Govender, said the programme received R1 million a month in funding – up from the R600 000 that was paid monthly between January and the end of October last year.
He said the money came from global bodies and their sponsors.
Sascoc had also instituted cost-cutting measures, he said.
Fifty-three athletes from able-bodied and Paralympic sports had been contracted into the programme in the build-up to the 2020 Olympics.
Govender said it was difficult to run such a large organisation that had received about R120 million a year from the National Lottery, but was now getting only R10 million.
“To have that cut is a huge dent,” he said. “All of our revenue streams have been drastically reduced, but we are able to get by. We are able to sustain Operation Excellence.
“We still get sponsorship from the International Olympic Committee and some of its top sponsors. This is the money we are using to run our business,” Govender said.
“The R1 million comes from some funding and also from money we are saving in other aspects of the business, such as not attending games that don’t give us any leverage towards the Olympics.
“For example, for this calendar year, Team SA will attend only the All Africa Games [in Rabat, Morocco, from August 23 to September 3].
“These [cost-cutting] measures have helped us to rechannel money into our Operation Excellence programme, and that’s how we’re sustaining it.”
Govender said Sascoc was also aware that some of the elite athletes had personal sponsorships, so it was more equitable to provide for athletes who were struggling financially.
“We firstly analysed the potential of these athletes to earn medals,” he said.
“We tried to split the money as widely as possible. You must remember that some of these athletes, such as Caster Semenya and Chad le Clos, earn a lot from [personal] sponsorship.
“They are still our athletes and we must still support and look after them, but, at the same time, under the circumstances, we’ve got to be realistic,” Govender said.
He said Sascoc was aiming to finalise the budget for the Tokyo Games within the next “two to three weeks”.
Meanwhile, the Sascoc board met Sport and Recreation Minister Tokozile Xasa this week to look for solutions for differences emanating from the ministerial inquiry report, which called for the federation to reform.
Xasa has appointed a “facilitator” to ensure that Sascoc meets the April deadline by implementing key recommendations from the report.
