Lotto funds hold-up leaves R25m hole in Sascoc coffers

The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) reported a R25.67m deficit for the year ending March 31, but was still able to deliver an accumulated surplus of R1.76m.

Revenue stood at R53.78m, less than half the R126.6m for the previous 12-month period, according to the annual financial statements discussed at the Sascoc AGM in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Sascoc’s biggest earner was the R19.85m from its Bidvest sponsorship, which underpins the Operation Excellence (OpEx) funding programme for Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls.

The next biggest contributor was the department of sport, arts and culture, with R12.7m, while R10.98m came from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Sascoc also received R3.15m from its Mr Price Sport sponsorship and R2.67m as a travel subsidy for the Commonwealth Games that were staged in Glasgow from July 24 to August 2.

Sascoc said it had applied for R57.8m funding from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), which would improve its position in the next financial year.

Sascoc received R39.4m from Lotto in 2025 but received no Lotto funding in 2026 because of the NLC’s 12-month cooling-off period, a policy considered counterproductive for Olympic sports, which are supposed to plan on four-year cycles.

Sascoc said in its financials that its cooling-off period ended on March 18.

That means the next cooling-off period will likely run at least into the early stages of 2028, arguably the busiest period before the Los Angeles Games later that year.

Sascoc’s biggest expenses were staff costs and total allowances at R22.57m. Salaries came to R19.3m, with six executives earning 11.2m. The CEO earned R3.19m.

Board member allowances came to R3.27m, of which R425,022 was paid to president Barry Hendricks, who was recently suspended pending a disciplinary hearing into governance and safeguarding allegations.

Sascoc invested R6.2m in Olympic and Paralympic athletes through its OpEx programme and a further R4m through the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme. — TimesLIVE