More national sports federations in South Africa will face suspensions in the coming weeks, Sascoc board member Kim Pople told IOL Sport.
Pople is the second vice-president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. The portfolio of national federations falls under this role.
“I am responsible for the national federations as part of my portfolio, and I can honestly say that there are going to be a few more coming out in the next few weeks,” Pople said.
Pople spoke on Tuesday at the launch of a multipurpose court at a school in Chatsworth, Durban.
“Before, it probably would have been a good fight and nothing would have been done. This is us saying good governance must happen, it’s got to stop,” Pople said.
Pople said Sascoc would work with the federations, and that the sector had to take the knocks and put the focus back on athletes instead of boardroom fights.
The interview followed changes at the top of Sascoc. First vice-president Lwandile Simelane became acting president after Barry Hendricks was suspended over alleged safeguarding and code violations.
Hendricks remains sidelined pending a formal judicial review. This follows an independent probe led by retired Judge Basheer Waglay.
Several federations are already affected. The High Court dismissed an urgent bid by Karate South Africa president Sonny Pillay and two board members to overturn their suspensions. The court also ordered them to pay punitive legal costs.
Swimming South Africa president Alan Fritz and CEO Shaun Adriaanse face provisional suspensions over allegations of power abuse and falsifying documents.
Athletics South Africa president James Moloi remains suspended after a forensic investigation into alleged credit card irregularities. Basketball SA and the Air Sports Federation of South Africa also face pending reviews, according to IOL Sport.
Pople said cleaning up how sport is run must come before South Africa can host major international events. Pople said Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie is expected to name the South African candidate host city by the end of October.
This follows government signals about an African bid for the 2036 or 2040 Olympic Games.
“Most of the high-performance plans for LA 2028 were locked in four to six years ago,” Pople said. Planning across federations is already building toward 2032 and 2036, Pople added.
Pople also raised the cost of competing overseas. Some athletes pay between R250 000 and R300 000 a year in international travel to chase Olympic qualification, according to IOL Sport.
“No athlete should pay for themselves to go overseas to compete for South Africa, and sadly that has become the norm,” Pople said. “It is not sustainable. We cannot just rely on government funding or the lotteries.”
Pople said Sascoc will soon launch an independent foundation to attract private sector support. “Corporates hear ‘crisis’ and don’t want to be involved, so we have to fix the governance to bring corporate support back,” Pople said.
Pople also welcomed the return of Olympic swimming champion Tatjana Smith. Smith retired after the Paris 2024 Olympics but met the World Short Course Championships A qualifying standard at the short course nationals.
“She comes back at her first meet and qualifies immediately,” Pople said. Smith has set her sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.