SAFA has until September 9 to account for the R20 million allocated for VAR after the Sports Ministry confirmed the funds remain untouched.
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture issued a detailed statement to clarify the funding and progress of the long-delayed project, which has come under increased scrutiny amid continued refereeing controversies in the Betway Premiership.
The R20 million was transferred to SAFA on March 6 after being announced two days earlier. SAFA confirmed in writing on August 18 that the full amount remains intact and unutilised in a separate account, together with the interest earned.
The only public money spent on the VAR project to date is R765,257.03, which covered a technical fact-finding mission to Spain in November 2025.
The department also clarified confusion around larger figures previously mentioned publicly. In October 2024, it indicated that up to R90 million could be made available, while R82 million was later set aside.
National Treasury ultimately approved R20 million as the first tranche, with further funding dependent on implementation progress.
VAR process timeline
The VAR process began in October 2024 when Sport Minister Gayton McKenzie met the SAFA NEC in Gqeberha and the association formally embraced the introduction of the technology.
SAFA subsequently issued a Request for Proposals in April 2025 before establishing a tender evaluation committee involving SAFA, DSAC and PSL representatives.
The process was later aligned with FIFA’s VAR Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme, which requires a detailed project plan, a VAR Project Team and an approved technology solution.
A technical mission travelled to Spain in November 2025, while SAFA later submitted an amended three-year implementation plan worth approximately R54.7 million.
That plan envisaged match-official training beginning in July 2026, experimental VAR deployment during the 2026/27 Nedbank Cup semi-finals and full rollout from the 2027/28 season.
However, progress subsequently stalled.
DSAC requested a written progress report from SAFA in April, but none was provided. In May, SAFA’s NEC approved the project but ordered another review of the budget before final approval.
By July, SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao confirmed that none of the department’s funds had been used.
Gayton McKenzie demand to Safa
The department eventually demanded the return of the R20 million on August 13.
SAFA responded five days later, confirming that the funds remained intact while requesting 21 additional days to complete its internal budget verification.
That extension was granted, with SAFA now required to report back by September 9.
McKenzie warning to SAFA
McKenzie has warned that if SAFA fails to provide a satisfactory report and credible procurement timetable, the department will recover the money and explore alternative routes with FIFA and CAF.
“I put VAR on the table and I told the country it was coming, so the disappointment with the pace of progress belongs to me as much as to anyone else,” McKenzie said.
“I want to apologise to every South African I have let down. What I will not do is pretend. The money is there, it has not been touched.”
McKenzie remains adamant that VAR will eventually be introduced.
“VAR must come to our football. If it cannot come the way we planned, it will come another way. But come it will,” he added.
For now, the Ministry’s position is clear: no public money has been lost, but valuable time has.
