South Africa’s cash-strapped Olympic body has been bailed out by the National Lotteries Committee (NLC) on the eve of the Rio Games in August.
The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) announced a R70-million cash injection from the NLC that will go towards the national team going to the global showpiece.
It had recently become clear Sascoc had been forced to tighten its belt hosting low-key pre-Olympic events compared to previous years.
Sascoc president Gideon Sam admitted the Olympic body had come under financial strain but thanks to the NLC sponsorship it could now meet its obligations for Rio.
“We were beginning to panic, let me now reveal the truth - and I am happy now that we can go to Rio, there was a doubt as to whether any of these board members would be going to Rio,” Sam said.
“Normally, you also appeal to the IOC with Olympic solidarity, so we’ve been keeping it very tight because towards the end of the cycle it tends to go down.
“You have to be realistic, and when the market out there doesn’t respond, there is not much you can do about that. We live as it comes, and money like this are timely injections.”
The funds will be used for the South African team at the Rio Olympics, Paralympics, and African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Games while a proportion of the money will be used for athlete preparation.
“The NLC has been giving funds for years, Opex is working because they’ve been helping us, this is over and above that,” Sam said.
“Athletics, swimming, and rowing are also getting big amounts from the NLC separately - the Telkom deal is more long-term where they say they want to be involved for the long haul.”
NLC chair, Professor Ntshengedzeni Nevhutanda, said the commission had released major funds like this for major sporting events before.
“The money will be used now, we also gave them money last year for other programmes, so it is a good thing that it coincides with their journey to Rio,” Nevhutanda said.
“They came to us and told us this is what they are going to do, and we acceded to their request.
“It is not the first time that we are giving them a whopping amount like this, like the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.”
It is the second major sponsorship that has come onboard with Sascoc in the past month after Telkom committed approximately R8m to the Olympic body, half of which will go towards the medal incentive pot, while the other half would be used to prepare the team for the Rio Games.
Four years ago Sascoc offered Olympic and Paralympic athletes R400 000 for a gold medal, while silver and bronze medals were worth R200 000 and R80 000, respectively.
“This generous sponsorship from the NLC is a tremendous boost for Team SA as we prepare for Rio 2016,” said Sascoc chief executive Tubby Reddy. “Corporate South Africa is increasingly showing an appetite to partner with a winning team and Team SA and Sascoc can assure our country that our athletes will make us proud at Rio 2016.” - The Star