His criticism comes as South Africa’s top young athletes prepare to travel to the United States for the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

The country’s brightest prospects have had to fund the bulk of their own expenses to compete at what is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent South Africa on the world stage. Of the 51 athletes selected to represent the country, only a handful have the financial means to cover the costs themselves, while the majority are still seeking funding. Some athletes require as little as R50 000 to cover their expenses, which would amount to approximately R2.5 million for the entire team – significantly less than the roughly R31 million spent by the department’s excursion to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Rumé Burger of Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje is a genuine medal contender in Oregon - Anton Geyer

Just last week, the department released R3 million to assist the South African men’s and women’s hockey teams ahead of the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands. While that support has been widely welcomed, many in athletics believe the country’s future Olympians deserve similar backing.

Among those travelling to Eugene are Bloemfontein stars Rumé Burger and Jayden Parkin, both regarded as genuine medal contenders and among the best junior athletes in the world.

Speaking in Bloemfontein on Wednesday during the launch of the RUN YOUR CITY Mangaung10K, Mathane criticised McKenzie for allegedly keeping ASA in the dark after travelling to Monaco in an apparent bid to bring an international athletics event to South Africa without consulting the federation.

Mathane said he was stunned when World Athletics contacted ASA to enquire about a potential bid that the governing body knew nothing about.

“People are focusing only on soccer, but they forget that athletics has produced medal winners,” said Mathane.

“Nobody came to us or rescued us. We’ve had to make our own noise.

“When the Minister heard our outcry in the media, I believe he should have been the first to call me and say, ‘Acting President, I hear your concerns. You don’t have the money. How can I assist?’

Jayden Parkin of Hoërskool Sentraal in Bloemfontein is one of the top ranked hurdlers in the world - Facebook

“He never contacted me, and I must honestly say that I’m disappointed in the Minister because he’s making decisions without consulting Athletics South Africa.

“I have been told that the Minister went to Monaco to bid for an athletics competition to come to South Africa without involving us.

“That undermines Athletics South Africa, and I need to put it on record. You cannot bid to host a track and field event in South Africa without consulting the governing body.

Gayton McKenzie is saying that you are all making noise because R31 million is just a change. You are all just broke pic.twitter.com/qfJ6zX163O

— Man’s NOT Barry Roux (@AdvoBarryRoux) July 22, 2026

“As Acting President, I wasn’t even invited. I was informed by SASCOC that the Minister had invited people to Monaco. When I asked our Acting CEO whether we had been invited, the answer was no. To this day, the Minister has travelled to Monaco and returned without speaking to me.

“This is disrespectful, and I need to be honest by saying that the Minister has shown Athletics South Africa a great deal of disrespect.

“I’m waiting for him to call me, and before he says anything else, he must first apologise for the actions he took.”

Hockey SA thanking the department for their financial assistance - Hockey SA

The latest criticism follows several weeks of intense scrutiny surrounding the department’s spending priorities.

McKenzie recently highlighted the size of his department’s budget and suggested there would be a public outcry once the amount already spent on efforts to bring Formula One back to South Africa became public knowledge.

In recent weeks, the Minister has also faced questions over expenditure related to the Departments trip to the recently FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, forcing him to publicly defend the department’s spending decisions.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport