GOOD Statement by Kaden Arguile,
GOOD National Youth Organiser
21 July 2026
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture must financially support South Africa’s hockey players instead of spending millions on officials’ World Cup trips.
For far too long, elite athletes across various sporting codes have suffered from maladministration, underfunding and corruption, leaving many of their efforts in the green and gold entirely self-funded. South African hockey should be used as an example of how not to support a successful national team.
Hockey has a deep history in South Africa and is popular among both men and women. It is also a school sport played by tens of thousands across the country every year, with significant infrastructure and resources invested in it. Yet this is where the pipeline gets clogged: after athletes have sacrificed blood, sweat and tears to become the best and play for the green and gold, our government turns its back on them.
The South African Hockey Federation’s public appeal for donations should be seen for what it truly is: an embarrassment. Every year, players are sent out with no financial backing while still being expected to represent our country with pride. Both the men’s and women’s teams are consistently competing among the top teams in the world. They are labelled underdogs not because they lack talent, but because they lack the support system their competitors enjoy. We cannot, in good faith, cheer on the Springboks or Bafana Bafana while athletes of the same calibre receive nothing.
GOOD calls on the Department to immediately meet with the SAHF and develop an expedited payment structure for these athletes. With trips requiring under R60,000 per player, it is ridiculous to see figures of over R400,000 being spent on department members for the World Cup. If the Department has the budget to fund such endeavours, it should immediately cover our struggling sportsmen and sportswomen.
With proper financial support, the potential of our players is enormous. Removing financial stress allows athletes to focus fully on performance. Hockey is one of South Africa’s most played youth sports, and it deserves to be respected, supported and acknowledged by our government.
South Africans deserve to see their hockey heroes on the astro, not stuck at home.
Media Enquiries: media@forgood.org.za