South Africa's Young Track Stars Face Funding Crisis Before World Championship

Young South Africans selected to compete at the U20 World Athletics Championship cannot be sure they can afford to get there. The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has failed to release grants contractually owed to Athletics South Africa by the end of June 2026, leaving athletes without the basic institutional support needed to represent their country at one of the sport’s most prestigious junior competitions.

The consequences fall hardest on competitors from modest backgrounds. Rather than channelling their energy into preparation and performance, these young athletes must now arrange and fund their own international travel. That burden, for many families, is not a minor inconvenience. It is a barrier that could prevent them from competing at all.

Athletics South Africa Vice President John Mathane publicly confirmed the non-payment, exposing a gap between what the government promised and what it has delivered. The disclosure puts the Department’s spending choices in sharp relief. Minister Gayton McKenzie recently dismissed concerns about R31 million in departmental expenditure, describing the sum as “nothing for the government.” That same amount, however, would cover the travel costs for the athletes now being asked to pay their own way to the world championship.

The contradiction is difficult to reconcile. The Department spent R31 million on FIFA World Cup-related activities while simultaneously failing to honour its funding obligations to young athletes competing at the highest international level. ActionSA has characterised this as a fundamental misalignment of priorities within the sports ministry, questioning whether public resources are being directed toward athlete development or toward ministerial travel and entertainment.

This is not an isolated incident. Since Minister McKenzie took office in 2024, ActionSA has repeatedly raised concerns about spending patterns inside the Department, citing expenditures running into the tens of millions on what the party describes as lavish travel and hospitality. The pattern points to a systemic problem with how the ministry allocates resources and manages its obligations to the athletes it exists to support.

Meanwhile, the civic stakes extend well beyond the individuals directly affected. Millions of young South Africans aspire to represent their country on the international stage. Those selected for the U20 World Athletics Championship are the nation’s athletic future. They earned their places through performance. The question of whether government will back that achievement with actual resources, rather than rhetoric, is a question about public duty.

ActionSA has committed to engaging both Athletics South Africa and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to resolve the funding crisis, seeking assurances that athletes will receive full support to participate without carrying the financial burden themselves. Whether those assurances materialise, and whether the Department releases the overdue grants before the championship begins, will test whether the ministry’s obligations to young South Africans are treated as real commitments or as aspirational language.