BAFANA WORLD CUP MONEY ROW: SAFA DEMANDS RECEIPTS FOR R700,000 AS MP CALLS FOR FORENSIC PROBE
A new financial controversy has erupted around Bafana Bafana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign after Parliament heard that former national team manager Vincent Tseka has yet to fully reconcile expenditure from R700,000 allocated to him during the tournament.
South African Football Association chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo disclosed the matter while SAFA officials were being questioned by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture.
Tseka has now been given until the end of August to locate outstanding invoices and complete the reconciliation.
SAFA says that if expenditure remains unsupported after the deadline, it will pursue available measures to recover the money.
The revelation triggered an angry response from an MP, who accused the association of protecting officials and called for a forensic investigation.
There is currently no finding that Tseka stole or misappropriated the money.
He disputes the amount SAFA says remains unreconciled.
R700,000 allocated during World Cup
Hluyo told Parliament that team managers receive money to cover operational expenses while travelling with national teams.
In Tseka’s case, approximately R700,000 was allocated for daily sundries during Bafana Bafana’s World Cup camp.
Those expenses were supposed to be supported by receipts and invoices and subsequently reconciled with SAFA’s finance department.
That process has not been completed.
According to Hluyo, some of the funds remain unreconciled in SAFA’s records.
Tseka disputes SAFA’s calculation and has asked for additional time to locate documentation.
Contract expired but Tseka given more time
Tseka’s contract with SAFA ended on 31 July.
He had reached retirement age and his position has subsequently been advertised.
However, his financial reconciliation with the association remains unfinished.
Hluyo told Parliament that Tseka requested several additional weeks to go through his records and locate invoices that may have been misplaced.
SAFA agreed.
The deadline is now the end of August.
That means the association should know within days whether sufficient documentation exists to reconcile the expenditure.
SAFA threatens to recover unreconciled money
Hluyo made SAFA’s position clear to MPs.
If the additional period expires without the financial discrepancy being resolved, the association intends pursuing the avenues available to it to recover any money that remains unaccounted for.
That does not mean SAFA has already established that Tseka owes R700,000.
The R700,000 figure refers to the allocation he received for World Cup camp expenses.
The final amount, if any, that cannot be supported by documentation will depend on the reconciliation process.
That distinction is crucial.
Tseka disputes SAFA figures
Tseka has challenged the amounts reflected in SAFA’s records.
According to Hluyo, the former team manager disputes the calculation of what remains unreconciled.
He has therefore been given the opportunity to produce invoices and other supporting documentation.
Until that process is completed, MDNtv should avoid describing the expenditure as missing money or alleging theft.
What Parliament has established is that documentation remains outstanding and SAFA has imposed a deadline for resolving it.
MP demands forensic investigation
The explanation did not satisfy committee member Matsholo Liesbet Mmolotsane.
She questioned why the reconciliation had taken so long when the World Cup ended on 19 July.
After Hluyo explained the additional period granted to Tseka, Mmolotsane accused SAFA of protecting one another.
She then called for a forensic investigation into the association.
No forensic investigation has yet been announced as a result of that call.
But the demand significantly raises the stakes around an already difficult parliamentary appearance for SAFA.
Bafana’s World Cup campaign brought huge FIFA payout
The controversy is unfolding against the backdrop of Bafana Bafana’s historic World Cup campaign.
South Africa reached the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Parliament says it was told that SAFA will receive more than US$11 million from FIFA as a consequence of reaching that stage.
That has inevitably increased parliamentary interest in how money surrounding the national team is managed.
MPs have been demanding explanations covering remuneration, tournament expenditure and governance.
Broos package also scrutinised
The committee also heard details about former Bafana coach Hugo Broos’ remuneration.
Parliament’s official account records that Broos’s package amounted to R16.8 million annually, or approximately R1.4 million per month, excluding accommodation and transport.
MPs contrasted that with the substantially lower amount initially proposed for Pitso Mosimane as SAFA negotiates over the Bafana coaching position.
Those disclosures have broadened the parliamentary examination of SAFA’s financial decisions.
Tseka’s tenure already under scrutiny
The latest financial issue also arrives after a difficult period for Bafana’s former team manager.
Tseka previously faced scrutiny over the administrative error that saw South Africa field Teboho Mokoena against Lesotho despite the player being suspended after accumulating yellow cards.
FIFA subsequently awarded Lesotho a 3-0 victory and South Africa lost points from the qualifier.
According to reporting on Wednesday, SAFA’s legal head previously confirmed that Tseka was the team manager responsible for the relevant administrative function, and he received a final written warning following an internal disciplinary process.
Bafana’s departure for the World Cup was later affected by visa problems involving members of the travelling party.
Those historical issues are separate from the current financial reconciliation and should not be presented as evidence of financial wrongdoing.
End-of-August deadline now crucial
The immediate issue is considerably simpler.
SAFA says R700,000 was allocated to Tseka for operational expenses during Bafana’s World Cup camp.
Some expenditure remains unsupported in its records.
Tseka disputes the amounts and has been given additional time to find documentation.
That time is almost over.
By the end of August, SAFA expects the reconciliation to be completed.
If the receipts are produced, the dispute could narrow substantially.
If they are not, SAFA says it will attempt to recover whatever money remains unreconciled.
And after an MP publicly called for a forensic investigation, what began as an internal accounting matter has now become another major parliamentary accountability issue confronting South African football.
The next breaking point is the end-of-August deadline.
