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South Africa take on Canada tonight playing in the round of 32 trying to make their way into the last 16 if they can muster up a win. Unlike most of the other football federations competing in the World Cup South Africa is virtually bankrupt.
According to reports the South African Football Association has R6.8 million in their bank account which is roughly $400K and is on the brink of a financial catastrophe. The team qualifying for the FIFA world cup could not have come soon enough as just their participation guaranteed a $11.5 million payout with the $1.5 million preparation pre tournament fee being upped by an extra $1 million which is now $2.5 million.
The extra funds are a huge boost to the SAFA coffers and now having qualified for the round of 32 has boosted the teams earnings by an extra $2 million. The players are benefitting by having negotiated an increased percentage the further they go into the tournament. Players started out with a 20% payout and if they beat Canada this evening will jump to 25% which no one saw coming after their opening loss to Mexico.
The South African players do not earn big money in the local leagues with the top players earning in the region of R5 million ($300K) per annum. In comparison top players playing in Europe can earn this within a week so the earnings from the World Cup is regarded as big money and possibly what is driving them more than most teams as they are desperate for money. In 2024 and 2025 when playing in the African Cup the SA football team were not paid and shows how bad things have been for many years.
I am still shocked that SAFA only had R6.8 million in the bank after recording a R26 million loss last season. The question is what would have happened if the team did not qualify for the World Cup because they would be bankrupt as $400K does not last that long when paying salaries and your monthly commitments.
Most things do not work in South Africa just looking at all the failed SOE's and the annual bail outs they receive so would SAFA qualify for a bail out? SA Rugby on the other hand is printing money mainly as they run this sport as a business and have to account and justify for every cent spent. I am sure this is not the same with SA Football with the SA Football chairman and FIFA representative having been charged with fraud and theft for money that could not be accounted for. The problem is these people remain in power when they should be rotting in prison as they all protect each other.
FIFA is a "non profit" organization, but have you ever seen a poor football official because they are all well looked after using FIFA funding. The idea that FIFA is non profit I find laughable as the entire organization benefits from the revenue generated and they are very well off. The facts are they do hand out a very high percentage of the revenue and it is not kept in house, but the percentage they do keep in house is more than what most businesses earn each year. FIFA registering themselves as a non profit business is so they do not pay high taxes and are protected. FIFA has billions in cash reserves which is the opposite of a non profit organization. FIFA has nearly $7 billion stashed away with a reported $2.7 billion held in strategic reserves.
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