Uproar in South Africa Following Shock Proposal to Slash Coach’s Salary Few Days After World Cup Qualification

South African football fans are up in arms after the country’s football governing body SAFA came up with a proposal that would see staff, including head coach Hugo Broos, face salary cuts.

Bafana Bafana fans and players are still celebrating World Cup qualification after Broos masterminded their return to the global tournament that they had last qualified for in 2002.

Broos did it under very difficult circumstances as his team suffered a three-point deduction from FIFA just before the last two qualification matches, while he has built a formidable team made of players who play locally.

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However, that still seems not enough as SAFA is seeking to have him among other top earners at the association take pay cuts in a bid to save costs, with South African outlet Soccer Laduma saying the football body is looking at salary reductions of between five and 25 per cent for those earning more than R600,000 (Ksh4.46 million) per year.

That ropes in Broos, who is reportedly on R1 million (Ksh7.45 million) per month, translating to R12 million (Ksh89 million) per year, but that would need a lot of convincing as the veteran Belgian tactician has a contract up to June 2026.

The 73-year-old has proved good value for money after turning around the fortunes of South Africa from a team that had been the laughing stock to third place in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, qualification to the 2025 edition as well as the World Cup, the latter for the first time in 23 years.

That decision has not gone well with fans who want the SAFA executive members, led by president Danny Jordaan, to be the ones taking a huge pay cut and let the coach be.

“Fire the team manager, cut 40% of Danny’s salary and that of his administrative colleagues or he must leave and then increase Broos’ salary by 5%,” a Bafana fan commented on social media.

“Danny Jordan salary must be cut, not Hugo Broos. They are about to mess up World Cup,” another one said.

“SAFA is pissed Bafana is going to the world cup…first they made sure Bafana lost 3 point which didn’t work and now salary cut…if this doesn't work, SAFA will pour red paint on their jerseys,” another one commented.

“Hugo’s salary should actually go up, he has over performed, Danny Jordaan should be the one cutting his own salary,” was the observation of another Bafana Bafana fan.

“And so, the political tricks begin… They will frustrate Broos to no end between now and the World Cup in the hope that he quits and they rope in their cronies again.”

According to the Soccer Laduma report, SAFA is staring at a financial collapse unless it comes up with some austerity measures but the problem is self-inflicted as the association has a bloated executive of 40 members who draw huge salaries and allowances, against an advice from FIFA to cut it to 18 in 2013.

SAFA is reported to have paid out more than R20.8 million (Ksh155 million) in backdated honorariums to its 40-member NEC, averaging about R400,000 (Ksh2.97 million) per person in 2022 for just two to three years of service just before Jordaan was reelected.

The excessive spending has now caught up with them and they are looking for ways to steady the ship before it sinks.