A new South African Football Association (Safa) bonus structure proposed for Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana, which would reduce their earnings, is likely to face resistance from players as their input was allegedly not sought.
According to documents to be presented at last Saturday’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting that was aborted amid a brawl, the new plan is for players to receive between 20% and 45% of tournament winnings, depending on the elimination stage.
This would drastically curtail players’ bonuses from tournaments. For instance, according to Safa’s financial report, Bafana players and staff shared R40m of the R47m won for finishing third at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. In the new structure, they would be entitled to just under R21m, or 44%.
As bonus talks for Bafana will take centre stage ahead of this year’s World Cup, set to kick off in June, Safa has made it clear it will no longer dip into its coffers to pay bonuses.
“If Fifa splits the money between players and member associations, then the Bafana bonuses must be the same as what is allocated by Fifa. Safa will not contribute additional bonuses to the players,” the proposal reads.
Bafana are drawn in Group A at the World Cup and will play the opening match against Mexico in Mexico City on June 11. Should they finish fourth in that group, players would get just 20% of the R144m Fifa will pay for finishing in that position.
If they reach the quarterfinals, they will share 30% of the R310m Fifa will pay for that stage. The winners of this year’s World Cup will get a whopping R815m. That would represent Bafana’s big payday if they pull off that miracle, as they would share 45% of that winner’s cheque.
However, a Safa NEC member — who requested anonymity because the document is still to be debated and approved — said it is unlikely players will agree to sign the new deal.
“I’m not aware of national captains being consulted,” the member said.
“The finance committee merely wrote the document and expects us to give it the go-ahead. It’s not the way to go because that’s why you find national teams going on strike when in camp already.”
The South African Football Players Union, which famously intervened when Banyana players embarked on a strike ahead of the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, said it would first study the proposed structure before commenting.
“I need to check with the stakeholders first,” said former Bafana skipper Thulani Hlatshwayo, the union’s president.
Safa’s latest NEC meeting, postponed from December, descended into chaos over the weekend amid threats of violence over disagreements about agenda items. The delayed financial statement for the year ending June 2025 showed the association in the red, with a R23m deficit.
“It’s not a surprise that the association has no money because there are NEC members taking loans from it without repaying,” said another NEC member, who also did not want to be named.
The statement showed NEC members took loans amounting to R1.7m from Safa.
Attempts to reach Safa’s media department for comment on the bonus cut plan were not immediately successful.
Safa put out a statement clarifying the allegations over NEC members taking loans.
“Safa wishes to categorically set the record straight and dispel the misleading narrative circulating regarding related party loan balances amounting to R1.774m as reflected in the draft Audited Annual Financial Statements that were scheduled for discussion at the previous NEC meeting,” the association said.
“Contrary to the insinuations being made by some NEC members who are clearly hellbent on tarnishing the image of the association, these amounts do not represent irregular payments or advances of funds to NEC members, or unauthorised benefits and undisclosed transactions. They arise from the National Executive Committee NEC Motor Vehicle Scheme, a structured governance support programme implemented by Safa in 2015.
“Under this scheme, Safa secured a loan facility from a financial institution to procure vehicles on behalf of NEC members who voluntarily elected to participate. The vehicles were acquired by the Association and allocated to participating members strictly in terms of signed loan agreements between Safa and the NEC members. These agreements clearly stipulate that the participating NEC members are fully responsible for reimbursing Safa for the value of the vehicles.
Safa said it was “important to emphasise these are recoverable amounts, governed by legally binding agreements, and not grants or financial benefits as some have misleadingly suggested”.
“We must also state that this NEC Members Vehicle Scheme was a once-off arrangement and is no longer available.”