With the ANC under a third of the vote, the shake-up could reshape who runs the pitches, stadiums and facilities South African sport depends on.
South African sport has a new stakeholder to watch: the voter. Local elections have delivered a heavy blow to the ANC, and the fallout could shape who controls the municipal pitches, stadiums and community facilities where the country's next generation of athletes is built.
With more than 80% of ballots counted, the party of Nelson Mandela is on course for a bruising night, sitting below a third of the national vote. That is almost 14 percentage points down on its 2021 result. The fragmented vote is the latest chapter in the ANC's slide since it took power at the end of apartheid in 1994.
Voters have been blunt about why. High unemployment, crime, corruption and poor local service delivery have driven many away. These are also the problems that hit grassroots sport hardest, from neglected fields and unsafe venues to stalled infrastructure projects and thin budgets for development programmes.
Municipalities often run the facilities where football, rugby, netball and athletics start. As results settle and councils take shape, expect clubs, federations and supporters to watch closely how new leadership handles sport funding and upkeep. The scoreboard from this vote is political, but the impact could be felt on South Africa's pitches and tracks.
