The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has decided to advance the South African Football Association (Safa) R5-million, following reports that the federation is battling to pay player's salaries ahead of the festive season.

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture 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 will 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,” said the department.

McKenzie said the department cannot allow players to go into the festive season without payment, particularly following recent sporting successes.

“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,” he said.

He also pointed to Banyana Banyana, which won the African Women's Championship in 2022 and participated in the FIFA World Cup last year.

In its correspondence with the Minister, Safa explained that sponsorship revenues had been insufficient, while the association also dealt with delayed payments from various partners.

Safa has been working on a financial turnaround strategy to increase revenues and cut costs, which will be presented to the Minister following the federation's upcoming national executive committee meeting, the department highlighted.