Pretoria: Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has provided a detailed explanation of the approximately R31 million spent on South Africa's FIFA World Cup 2026 delegation and related programme activities, focusing on fan engagement, activations, and legacy initiatives, including the involvement of artists and cultural participants. This clarification comes in response to questions raised in Parliament and the media over the past week concerning South Africa's engagement at the World Cup.
According to South African Government News Agency, the Minister noted that private sector partners, including Brand South Africa, Coca-Cola, HONOR, Betway, Cell C, and Old School, sponsored Lucky Fans, journalists, podcasters, and influencers who participated in the programme, along with additional fan mobilisation activities. "That sponsorship sat outside the department's own expenditure. The FIFA World Cup was the largest global sports, arts, and culture platform of the year, and it only comes around every four years. Spending public money to position South Africa on such a platform is not a deviation from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) mandate - it is exactly the DSAC mandate," McKenzie clarified in a statement on Sunday.
A total of 151 participants were sent to Mexico and the United States for the World Cup, excluding the service provider team. The breakdown of the R30,945,370.15 spent on the World Cup is as follows: official trips and travel-related expenditure for the Minister and two support staff, Director-General, and Project Team (14 members) amounted to R7,865,134.97; the South Africa 2010 Legends Exhibition Match, involving 27 people in total, cost R6,706,925.00; suites accounted for R3,361,845.18; spectator match tickets were R3,011,465.00; and programme activities linked to fan engagement, Aldea Global participation, Atlanta partnership activations, Monterrey and legacy activities, including the costs of 30 artists and cultural participants and the project delivery team from a service provider, totaled R10,000,000.00.
The R7.86 million covered the costs of the official delegation responsible for delivering the programme, which included international flights, accommodation, local transport, travel insurance, daily allowances, and all approved travel costs for McKenzie, executive management, and officials responsible for logistics, communications, protocol, governance, and programme delivery, as well as South African artists and cultural representatives who were part of the official delegation. The R6.71 million funded the South Africa 2010 Legends Programme. "The match between the 2010 Bafana Bafana legends and Mexico's 2010 legends was filled. Our football legends didn't just travel to watch football. They represented South Africa in an official exhibition match and legacy events that celebrated our football history and kept the spirit of 2010 alive while promoting South African football on the global stage," the Minister added.
The R3.36 million funded official hospitality venues in Atlanta and Monterrey, while the R3.01 million covered 294 official FIFA match tickets across three host cities. "Those tickets formed part of the approved programme and allowed our delegation, stakeholders, and programme participants to attend official World Cup fixtures linked to South Africa's activation and engagement programme," McKenzie stated.
He further explained that the R10 million was spent on building South Africa's physical presence at the FIFA World Cup, funding the design, construction, and installation of exhibition spaces in Mexico City, Atlanta, and Monterrey. It covered branding, d©cor, lighting, sound, screens, technical equipment, furniture, logistics, transport, security, maintenance, and the teams that built, operated, and later dismantled the spaces. "It funded the actual programme that thousands of football fans experienced. South African musicians performed live. Our chefs introduced the world to South African food. Local artists and crafters displayed and sold South African products proudly. Businesses promoted South Africa as a tourism destination and an investment destination. Visitors walked away with a better understanding of our country, our people, and what South Africa has to offer," McKenzie concluded.
