The South African Hockey Association has welcomed the decision by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr. Gayton McKenzie, to approve R3 million in financial assistance towards the participation of South Africa’s Men’s and Women’s national teams at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup.
SA Hockey’s fundraising appeal was made to the broader South African public and business community as the Association worked to close the remaining funding gap for the two World Cup campaigns.
The support approved by Minister McKenzie will provide vital assistance in addressing that shortfall and ensuring that both teams can represent South Africa at the sport’s biggest global event without adding additional financial burden on the athletes.
President of SA Hockey, Deon Morgan, expressed the Association’s appreciation.
“On behalf of SA Hockey, our national teams and the wider hockey community, I would like to sincerely thank Minister Gayton McKenzie and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture for this important support,” said Morgan.
“Our appeal was made to the whole of South Africa, and we remain deeply grateful to every individual, business and member of the hockey community who supported or shared the campaign. Our intent was always to find additional partners to remove the financial burden of sustaining and growing the Sport in South Africa whilst ensuring a good return on investment for those partners.”
SA Hockey acknowledges the conditions attached to the funding and remains committed to the required governance, financial reporting and accountability processes. We understand the pressure on Government with limited budgets and having to look after so many sporting codes, so we do not take this generous gesture for granted.
The Association continues to pursue sustainable funding opportunities for all its national programmes, including senior outdoor, senior indoor, under-21 teams and the new Hockey5s format of the game, across the international events in which they represent South Africa.
“This support is significant, but the broader work of sustainably funding our national teams continues,” Morgan added. “SA Hockey remains open to discussions with commercial and strategic partners who share our belief in the value, potential and future of South African hockey.”
SA Hockey again thanks Minister McKenzie, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and all South Africans who have supported our National Teams and Growth Strategy.
