Perceptions of current support systems leading to international sporting success for South Africans


 The purpose of the study was to examine the availability of elite sport support systems
of South African National Sports Federations (NSFs) and their accessibility to athletes
from historically disadvantaged areas (HDA). Twenty-one NSFs from Olympic sports
participated in the study whereby they responded to a questionnaire on sports policy
factors leading to sporting success (SPLISS). Descriptive statistical analyses were
conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 27.0, IBM).
Informed consent was obtained from all participants before the study commenced. The
majority of the NSF’s respondents reported that there was an insufficiency of financial
resources, scientific and research support services, and post-sport career support. They
also reported overall moderate-to-high availability of governance, organisation and
sport policy structure, sport facilities, and opportunities for international
competitions/exposure. Financial resources, post-career and scientific support were the
most frequently reported insufficiencies, with poorer support in HDAs for all of the nine
pillars of support. Additional provision is required to ensure that support systems are
inclusive of athletes from HDAs. Future research needs to continue the focus on
providing more detailed data on the support systems accessible to elite athletes and
coaches.

