The Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) has issued a statement on the much-debated Video Assistant Referee (VAR) issue in South African football.
Since last season, there has been widespread calls for the introduction of VAR in Mzansi football, and the calls has gotten louder with incidents where players have found themselves on the wrong end of tackles this campaign.
On Tuesday afternoon, the department has since released a lengthy statement detailing the figures dedicated towards the project.
The Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) wishes to place the complete record of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) project before the public, following much request for comment and gaps and misunderstandings currently circulating in the media.
A number of figures are in public circulation, but the documented position is as follows.
●The amount transferred to the South African Football Association (SAFA) is R20 million. It was transferred on 6 March 2026, following the Department’s announcement of the transfer on 4 March 2026.
●The money has not been spent. SAFA confirmed in writing to the Director-General on 18 August 2026 that the full amount remains intact and unutilised in a separate account, together with the interest earned on it. That confirmation followed a disclosure by SAFA’s own Chief Executive Officer to SAFA’s Finance Committee on 13 July 2026.
●The only public money spent on the VAR project to date is R765,257.03, being the cost of a November 2025 technical mission to Spain. This was reported to the National Assembly in reply to Question 431 of 2026.
●On the larger figures that have been quoted over two years: in October 2024 the Department indicated a provision of up to R90 million. In September 2025 the Minister confirmed that R82 million had been set aside. National Treasury ultimately approved R20 million as a first tranche for the 2025/26 financial year. That amount was allocated against a three-year implementation plan submitted by SAFA, in which the first year was budgeted at R20,477,800. Further tranches were always to be considered against demonstrated implementation progress and outstanding procurement requirements, as the Department confirmed to Parliament in November 2025. That remains the position.
No public money has been lost. What has been lost is time.
The full timeline:
11 October 2024 – The Minister meets the SAFA National Executive Committee (NEC) in Gqeberha. SAFA formally embraces the introduction of VAR. This is confirmed in writing to the SAFA President and CEO on 12 October 2024, together with an indication that the Department would make provision of as much as R90 million.
8 April 2025 – SAFA publishes a Request for Proposals, closing on 21 April 2025. Responses are received from local and international providers.
Mid-2025 – A Tender Evaluation Committee is constituted, comprising four SAFA representatives, two from DSAC and two from the Premier Soccer League (PSL). At its first meeting it becomes clear the process must first be aligned to FIFA’s VAR Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme (IAAP). No country may implement VAR without FIFA approval, and that approval requires an appointed VAR Project Team, a detailed project plan and a confirmed technology solution.
12 August 2025 – SAFA writes to the Minister confirming the appointment of a VAR Project Team as its priority and requesting advice on the availability of funding.
3 September 2025 – The Minister confirms in writing that R82 million has been set aside in the then-current budget, and asks that the project move with pace.
November 2025 – A technical fact-finding mission travels to Spain. It is led by SAFA’s VAR Project Leader, former FIFA referee Mr Daniel Bennett, accompanied by the Minister’s Special Adviser and three South African journalists invited specifically so that the public could see the work firsthand. The mission assesses one of four shortlisted global suppliers and observes live VAR operations, including at the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The technical assessment work that followed was carried out by referees – Mr Bennett working with Mr Victor Gomes, Mr Jerome Damon and SAFA’s Head of Referees, Mr Abdul Ebrahim.
17 November 2025 – A shortlist of four potential providers is announced by the VAR Project Team and confirms Treasury approval of an initial allocation of more than R20 million.
28 February 2026 – SAFA submits its amended three-year VAR implementation business plan and budget, totalling approximately R54.7 million over three financial years, with training of match officials to commence in July 2026, experimental deployment targeted at the 2026/27 Nedbank Cup semi-finals, and full rollout at the start of the 2027/28 season.
4 and 6 March 2026 – The Department announces the transfer of R20 million and the payment is processed. The allocation is ringfenced for the procurement of VAR equipment in terms of the agreement concluded with SAFA.
7 March 2026 – The VAR Project Team’s scheduled presentation to the SAFA NEC is postponed.
8 April 2026 – DSAC requests a written progress report on implementation. No report is provided.
9–10 May 2026 – The SAFA NEC approves implementation of the VAR project, but resolves that its Finance Committee must first conduct a further review and interrogation of the budget before final approval is granted.
22 May 2026 – The NEC appoints a task team to carry out that review on behalf of the Finance Committee.
2 June 2026 – A Joint Liaison Committee meeting with the PSL is convened virtually, followed by a presentation to the PSL Executive Committee.
13 July 2026 – SAFA’s CEO confirms to the task team that none of the funds transferred by the Department have been utilised. The task team raises queries about certain budget items.
13 August 2026 – The Director-General of DSAC writes to SAFA recording the Department’s concern at the absence of a progress report and at the lack of progress on implementation, and – as the Public Finance Management Act requires of a transferring department – demands repayment of the R20 million with immediate effect.
18 August 2026 – SAFA responds, apologises for the delay, confirms the funds are intact and unutilised, and requests a further period of up to 21 days to conclude its internal budget verification.
19 August 2026 – The Director-General grants SAFA a final extension of 21 days, requiring a comprehensive report on the outcome of the process, the status of the project, recommendations on the way forward, and confirmation of the balance of funds held, including interest. The Department expressly reserves its right to take any decision it deems appropriate should the outstanding matters not be satisfactorily resolved.
Where the matter stands today
The 21-day period has not expired. It runs to 9 September 2026, and SAFA’s report is due only on that date.
If a satisfactory report and a credible procurement timetable are delivered, the project is likely to proceed. If they are not, the Department will recover the funds and pursue every lawful avenue to bring VAR to South African football by other available routes, in consultation with FIFA and CAF, whose rules govern how and through whom VAR may be implemented in any member country.
Where the Minister has raised concerns about conduct within football administration, those concerns will be taken up in the appropriate forums and, where warranted, with the appropriate authorities. They will not be litigated in the media.
“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,” said Minister McKenzie. “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, and I am not going to allow it to sit in an account while another season is played under the same refereeing controversies we have all been complaining about for years.
“I have said I am prepared to go to FIFA to make this happen, and I meant it. VAR must come to our football. If it cannot come the way we planned, it will come another way. But come it will.”
The Department wishes to be equally clear about what remains possible. The funded implementation plan provides for training of match officials from July 2026 and for the first experimental deployments in the 2026/27 Nedbank Cup semi-finals, with full rollout from the 2027/28 season. A phased introduction within this season therefore remains achievable if procurement concludes. The Department will publish progress as it occurs, since the football public in particular has a right to know.
The Department transfers public money to more than sixty sport bodies. In every case, the responsibility that comes with that money is the same: to use it for the purpose for which it was voted, to account for it, and to report on it when asked. The broader principle remains that, where that does not happen, funds will be recovered.
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