JOHANNESBURG - The South African Football Association (Safa) have admitted to a loss of R40 million for the financial year ending June 2016.
The news was announced at Safa's 25-year anniversary celebrations, which formed part of their annual congress, at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The deficit has been attributed mainly to the costs Safa have incurred on the various national teams, including the SA Under-23s and the women's national team's trips to the Olympic Games in Brazil, as well as training camps leading up to that event.
Other expenses included Bafana Bafana's failed African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, as well as the participation in the Cosafa Cup in Namibia.
"This pressure on revenue, when combined with the cost of supporting successful national teams without sponsors and funding development in line with our commitment, has meant that we have this year reported a loss position in our finances of some R40m," Safa president Dr Danny Jordaan admitted.
"It is incumbent on all of us, and in particular, our administration, to ensure that we do not have a repeat of this in the coming year. On the positive side, our strategy to build a football property profile to reduce expenditure and generate additional revenue is delivering results.
"Safa House (R70m) and the National Technical Centre (R100m) provide a solid base for a secure financial future. The Legacy Trust has a cash deposit of R290m. The total base is, therefore, solid but we need to increase our commercial revenue to over R300m."
The South African footballing governing body are also involved in a dispute with Bafana Bafana head coach Ephraim 'Shakes' Mashaba, who was suspended on November 13 this year after allegedly bringing the organisation into disrepute when he publicly accused his employers of not adequately backing him in the World Cup qualifiers.