Swimming SA appeals to Sports Minister over budget cuts

By Charles Baloyi
23rd October 2025

Swimming South Africa (SSA) president Alan Fritz has raised serious concerns following their recent meeting with Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie in Johannesburg, where they pleaded with him not to slash the federation’s funding.

McKenzie’s department recently cut budgets by R2 million across various sports federations, a move that has drawn heavy criticism.

Fritz told SABC Sport that the reduction would have a devastating impact on swimming, especially with the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles fast approaching.

“We had a short and clear meeting with the minister,” said Fritz. “Our message was simple — don’t cut our budget, or we won’t be able to deliver medals at the Olympics. Swimming is South Africa’s top medal-producing sport at the Games, and reducing our funding will hurt the country’s medal chances. That was our strong message to him, and we meant it.”

Fritz revealed that SSA’s annual funding has dropped from R4 million to just R1 million, which he described as “crippling.”

He said the federation will meet the minister again in the next 30 days to present a detailed proposal on the funding needs of high-performance sports.

“We told him what we need and what we can do without. The current funding levels are holding us back. You can’t expect world-class performances without proper financial support,” Fritz added.

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The former SASCOC board member emphasized that investment in swimming is vital, as the sport consistently delivers international success. “Can you imagine the Olympics without swimming medals for South Africa? We are targeting four medals at the 2028 Olympics and between six and eight at the 2032 Games in Australia. Yet, swimming is not given the respect it deserves and is still seen as a minority sport,” he said.

Fritz also expressed doubt about whether the minister truly understood their concerns.

“It seems the focus is elsewhere, like investing in VAR for football. We respect that football is the biggest sport in the country, but we also deserve proper attention and support,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Fritz remains optimistic about the future.

“Right now, swimming is thriving with a new generation of talented young athletes performing

well internationally. With the right support, we can deliver even more medals for the nation,” he concluded.