Safa clash with MPs as Hugo Broos salary of R16.8m a year revealed

Former Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was paid R16.8m a year by the South African Football Association (Safa), a parliamentary committee was told during a tense meeting on Tuesday.

The package amounted to R1.4m a month and did not include a car, accommodation or a driver, which were also provided for the Belgian during his time in charge.

The figure emerged after Safa chief executive Lydia Monyepao declined several requests to disclose Broos’ salary during a virtual appearance before the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture.

Committee chair Joe McGluwa of the Democratic Alliance then dramatically asked Monyepao to leave the meeting.

“I cannot answer that question,” Monyepao said as she stuck to her guns when she was repeatedly asked to reveal the cpach’s package.

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie subsequently intervened and disclosed that Broos had earned R1.4m per month. McGluwa backed the disclosure, saying the figure was consistent with recommendations from the Information Regulator.

“The salary of the President [Cyril Ramaphosa] is not a secret. There is no coach in the world where they do not tell what is salary is. There is no coach whose salary is a secret anywhere in the world,” Mckenzie said.

“Let us not make problems where there are no problems, we just have to be forthright.”

Safa chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo later confirmed the salary figure. He also revealed that Broos is due to receive 10% of the $12m (R191,560,789) payment Safa receives from Fifa after Bafana Bafana qualified for the last 32 of the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Broos’ reported package is substantially higher than the R10m Pitso Mosimane is expected to earn if he is appointed as the next Bafana Bafana coach. Mosimane was still negotiating with Safa on Tuesday afternoon, with no agreement yet concluded.

The meeting also addressed several other contentious issues, including the introduction of VAR, the upcoming Safa elections and the visa problems that delayed Bafana Bafana’s departure for the World Cup in North America by a day.

McKenzie said the implementation of VAR would assist referees and was overdue, while stressing that the technology would not eliminate every error.

“VAR is not going to be the beginning and end of perfection but we must have continuous training of referees. Wherever there are people, there are going to be problems.

“That is just a fact of life. Safa should have continous training of referees.”

Mxolisi Sibam, chair of Safa’s finance committee, said the association’s national executive committee had instructed it to oversee the implementation of VAR.

“The department gave us R20m and we put it into a separate bank account. Where the matter is now when it comes to VAR is that the NEC of Safa mandated us as the finance committee to deal with the PFM Act and policies of Safa.

“On the budget that was submitted to the department, it is not only for equipment and training of our referees. On the issue of referees in the country, there is continuous training.”

The position of Bafana Bafana team manager Vincent Tseka was also discussed. Monyepao said Safa had advertised the role.

“Recently we issued an advert for the position of team manager and we have indicated you need to have a Bachelor’s degree in sports management and five years’ experience or a matric certificate and a minimum of 10 years’ experience,” she said.