The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has reported a R25.67m ($1.5m) deficit for the year ended 31 March 2026, after the absence of National Lotteries Commission (NLC) funding contributed to a sharp reduction in revenue.
Revenue fell to R53.78m from R126.6m in the previous financial year, while SASCOC finished the period with an accumulated surplus of R1.76m. The organisation received R39.4m from Lotto in the prior year but received no equivalent funding during 2025/26 because of the NLC's 12-month cooling-off period.
SASCOC's largest source of income during the period was R19.85m from its Bidvest sponsorship, which supports its Operation Excellence programme for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture contributed R12.7m, while R10.98m came from International Olympic Committee top sponsors.
The organisation also received R3.15m through its Mr Price Sport sponsorship and R2.67m in travel subsidies for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. It has applied for R57.8m from the NLC for the next financial year after its latest cooling-off period ended on 18 March.
Staff costs and allowances represented SASCOC's largest expense at R22.57m, including R19.3m in salaries. Athlete expenditure included R6.2m through Operation Excellence and R4m through the IOC's Olympic Solidarity programme.
The funding position comes amid wider scrutiny of SASCOC's historic relationship with lottery funding. In May, South Africa's Special Tribunal set aside a R24.98m NLC grant awarded in 2016 after finding the grant process unlawful. SASCOC and its former CFO were ordered to repay R150,000 retained as an administrative fee, while other respondents were ordered to repay the remaining R24.83m.
The current financial statements do not report EBITDA as a performance measure. As a sports confederation rather than a commercial gambling operator, SASCOC reports its financial position through measures including revenue, annual surplus or deficit and accumulated funds.
South Africa's gambling sector has separately faced increased attention around the social impact of market growth. In August, the National Gambling Board announced a National Task Team for its Risk to Responsibility initiative, focused on responsible gambling education, financial wellness and harm prevention among students and young people.
SASCOC's 2024/25 annual report showed that it had applied for R22m from the NLC and described the lottery body as one of its key funders for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
