Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has revealed that a ‘significant meeting’ is set to take place in the next two weeks with representatives from Formula One.
The Kyalami Grand Prix has been granted permission to modify its design, paving the way for a potential return of F1 to the country.
“Many laughed when I uttered the words ‘Formula 1 must come back to South Africa’. One man in particular, who didn’t laugh was Toby Venter, the owner of the Kyalami racetrack.
“When I told him that government doesn’t have the money to host Formula 1 because of other more urgent priorities and we would not be able to help him pay for the track to reach F1 standards, he looked me in the eye and said he would see it [as] his patriotic duty to do just that.
“We have had multiple meetings with the management of F1, with a crucial one happening in the next two weeks.“
Unlocking local talent
The Minister was speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, presenting a R6.3 billion budget aimed at unlocking local talent in both sports and the arts and culture.
“To those who say the country can’t afford to host the F1, I’m saying the country can’t afford not to… We hosted the best FIFA World Cup. We put our country on the map for big events and should not turn back now.”
According to McKenzie, what will be different this time is that government will not be expected to pay.
Meanwhile, he announced that companies like MTN, MultiChoice, Heineken, and many others have expressed their support for this initiative.
“They will be present with us in the meeting with Formula 1 at the end of the month.”
However, he stressed that those who believe that F1 is not important should consider the countries that are holding onto their F1 spots on the calendar.
“They see the value in it, and it can’t be called a world championship if it misses an entire continent, sub-Saharan Africa in particular.”
‘People were laughing’
He also expressed gratitude to everyone who joined the mission to promote the sport of spinning, including Red Bull and Cell C.
“People were laughing when we said we’re going to make spinning big, but already this sport has left the townships and now Sam Sam is wowing the likes of Max Verstappen with his skills in Austria.”
Samkeliso Thubane, also known as Sam Sam, is a prominent South African spinning motorsport athlete sponsored by Red Bull.
He is recognised as the world’s first official Red Bull spinning athlete and has gained international acclaim for his skills, performing at the reopening of Red Bull Hangar-7 in Austria.
LIV Golf
The country is exploring the potential of bringing a LIV Golf tournament, a professional men’s golf tour, to South Africa as early as next year.
“Golf has not broken through to the masses and we hope to achieve that with LIV Golf. It’s not only golf, but also culture,” McKenzie said.
The Minister said he hoped to eclipse Australia’s attendance of more than 100 000 at a single event over three days.
Olympics
Meanwhile, he said the draft document has been developed, and plans are being finalised to send as many athletes as possible to the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
The Minister said last year, they travelled to Olympic House in Switzerland to express the country’s interest in hosting the Summer Olympic Games in South Africa in 2036.
VAR
McKenzie announced that they are finalising the funding process for video assistant refereeing (VAR) to ensure fairness in football matches, from the Premier Soccer League to international fixtures – meeting global standards.
“It is a necessity. We see stadiums vandalised when bad refereeing happens, and the success of teams like Mamelodi Sundowns makes global teams want to play here, but they get second thoughts because we don’t have VAR.“
What’s the most important in terms of bringing to SA: Formula One, LIV Golf, Olympics or VAR?
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