Sport Relief (sport_relief) — What It Means, How to Fix It and How to Appeal (no_sport_relief)
At a Glance: What To Do First
Confirm the exact month showing sport_relief on your SRD status portal. Check whether you applied for, registered on, or received any government sport support or athlete relief programme during that specific month. If you received a benefit during the assessed month, the decline may be correct for that period. If you did not participate, if your participation ended before the assessed month, or if the record is incorrectly linked to your ID, you have grounds to appeal using no_sport_relief. Month-specific written confirmation from the relevant programme administrator is the strongest evidence you can submit.
What Sport Relief Means on the SRD Portal
When your SRD application shows Sport Relief, the automated SRD check detected a government sport support or athlete relief programme record matched to your ID for the assessed month. Government sport programmes provide financial support, stipends, bursaries, or development funding to qualifying athletes, coaches, and sport development participants. Participation in or registration on such a programme is treated as a form of government financial support, which affects SRD eligibility.
The wording appears differently depending on which portal you are using:
SRD status portal (srd.sassa.gov.za/sc19/status): Sport Relief
SRD appeals portal (srd.sassa.gov.za/appeals/appeal): sport_relief
Your appeal reason on the appeals portal: no_sport_relief
Because SRD is assessed per month, the question is not whether you have ever been associated with a sport programme but whether a beneficiary record was active and a benefit was received during the specific assessed month. A record from a previous period that was not properly closed can continue triggering declines for months after the benefit ended.
If you genuinely received sport relief or athlete support during the assessed month, an appeal for that period is unlikely to succeed. If the record is incorrect, outdated, or belongs to someone else, you have a valid basis to appeal.
Which Government Sport Programmes Can Trigger This Decline
Several government-administered sport support and athlete development programmes exist in South Africa and records from these programmes are used in SRD eligibility cross-checks.
Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) Athlete Support Programme. Administered by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC). Provides financial support to high-performance athletes representing South Africa in priority codes. Beneficiaries are registered under their ID numbers and receive monthly stipends. This is the most likely source of a sport_relief decline for competitive athletes.
Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) Sport Components. Certain sport-related employment and coaching income support components of the PESP are administered through DSAC and create beneficiary records linked to participant ID numbers.
Sport Bursary and Development Programmes. Provincial Departments of Sport, Arts and Culture administer bursaries and development funding for athletes and coaches at provincial level. These programmes capture participant ID numbers and may generate records appearing in national database cross-checks.
South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) registered athlete stipends. Athletes receiving government-funded stipends through national federation programmes that operate under SAIDS oversight may have records captured in government sport databases.
COVID-19 Sport Relief. During COVID-19 lockdowns, certain government relief was made available to sport industry participants including athletes, coaches, and technical officials whose income was disrupted. Records from this relief period may still exist in DSAC databases.
National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) Sport Grants. While primarily a grant-making body rather than a direct government programme, NLDTF-funded sport grants distributed through sport federations may have captured beneficiary ID numbers that appear in cross-check databases.
If you are unsure which specific programme triggered the decline, contact SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 and ask which programme record was detected for the assessed month.
Common Causes Behind This SRD Decline
Active sport programme stipend during the assessed month. You received a government athlete support payment or sport development stipend during the month in question. The decline may be correct.
Stipend ended but record not closed. When your participation in a sport programme ends, the record should be updated in the programme database. This does not always happen promptly. Former athletes and participants can continue to appear as active for months after their last payment.
Applied or registered but never received a payment. You submitted an application or registration for sport support but were not approved or never received a payment. A registration record alone may still trigger the SRD match.
Provincial programme record not updated. Provincial sport development programmes operate independently of national systems. A provincial sport bursary or development grant record may not have been closed when the programme ended.
Incorrect ID linkage. A sport programme record belonging to another person has been linked to your ID due to a data capture error during registration processing.
Once-off performance bonus appearing across multiple months. A once-off performance payment or competition bonus processed in a specific month may appear in the database as covering multiple months, triggering declines for periods when no actual payment was made.
Programme Follow-Up: Get Month-Specific Confirmation Before You Appeal
Before appealing, contact the relevant programme administrator and request written confirmation of your participation status for the specific assessed month.
Which Administrator To Contact
For national SRSA/DSAC athlete support programmes:
Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) Website: dsac.gov.za Call centre: 012 304 5000 Email: info@dsac.gov.za
For provincial sport bursaries and development programmes:
Contact your provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture. All nine provinces have their own sport department. Search for your province plus “Department of Sport Arts and Culture” to find the correct contact.
For NLDTF sport grant records:
National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund Website: thenationallottery.co.za Call centre: 0800 200 200
If you are unsure which programme triggered the decline:
Contact SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 first and ask which specific programme record caused the sport_relief flag for the assessed month.
Copy and Paste Email Template
Subject: Request for Sport Programme Status Confirmation — [Your ID Number] — SRD Decline: sport_relief
Message:
Dear [Administrator Name],
I am writing to request official written confirmation of my participation status in any sport support or athlete development programme administered by your organisation for [Month Year]. My SRD R370 grant application was declined for this month with the reason Sport Relief (sport_relief). I believe this may be an error and require official confirmation to support my appeal to ITSAA.
Full name: [Your full name as on your ID] ID number: [Your 13-digit ID number] Month in question: [Month and Year]
Please confirm in writing whether any sport programme record exists under my ID number for [Month Year], whether I was a registered participant or beneficiary during this period, and whether any financial benefit, stipend, or payment was provided to me during this month. If no record exists under my ID, please confirm this in writing so I can submit it as evidence with my SRD appeal.
Thank you.
Fast Checks and Fixes Before You Appeal
Confirm the exact month showing sport_relief on your SRD status portal. Write down the month before doing anything else.
Think through any sport programme, athlete support scheme, or sport development bursary you have been involved with. Check your bank statement for the assessed month for any deposits from a government sport department or programme administrator.
Contact SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 if you cannot identify which programme triggered the decline.
Portal Appeal Option for This Status: no_sport_relief
Select no_sport_relief on the SRD appeals portal only when your evidence clearly shows that the sport relief record does not apply to you for the assessed month or that no benefit was received during that period.
Evidence Checklist for no_sport_relief
Official written confirmation from the programme administrator stating that you were not a participant or beneficiary during the assessed month, or that no record exists under your ID. Must reference the specific month and include your full name and ID number.
Bank statement for the assessed month showing no sport programme deposit during that period.
Certified copy of your South African ID document for written appeal submissions.
Portal screenshot showing the exact month and sport_relief wording.
Written dispute statement if the record does not belong to you.
How To Submit Your SRD Appeal: no_sport_relief
Go to the official SRD appeals portal. Enter your ID number and registered phone number. Request and enter the OTP. Select the specific declined month. Select no_sport_relief as your appeal reason. Upload your supporting documents with dates clearly visible. Submit and keep your SMS confirmation.
Written Appeal for Cases Older Than 90 Days
If the 90-day online window has passed, download the official SASSA appeal form from sassa.gov.za, complete it for the specific declined month, attach certified copies of your supporting documents, and submit at your nearest SASSA office. Keep your proof of submission.
If Your SRD Appeal Is Declined
If ITSAA declines your appeal the outcome for that specific month is final through the internal process. You have 180 days from the final ITSAA decision to apply for judicial review under PAJA. Contact Legal Aid South Africa or Black Sash for free advice before pursuing a court process. If the record is incorrect, contact the relevant administrator to have it corrected at source to prevent future months from being affected.
Tips and Scam Awareness
Request month-specific wording from the administrator. Ask them to confirm your status for the specific month and year rather than just your current status. A general statement that you are not currently receiving sport support is less useful than a confirmation that specifically covers the assessed month.
Do not pay anyone claiming they can remove a sport programme record from government databases. Record corrections must go through the relevant official administrator. Fake confirmation letters are a criminal offence and will result in a permanent ban from the SRD grant. SRD appeals are completely free.
Summary: What To Do If You Are Declined for Sport Relief
- Confirm the exact month showing sport_relief on your SRD status portal.
- Contact SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 to identify which programme triggered the decline.
- Contact the relevant programme administrator using the template above for written confirmation covering the assessed month.
- Check your bank statement for the assessed month to confirm no sport programme benefit was received.
- Submit your appeal at the SRD appeals portal selecting no_sport_relief within 90 days.
- If beyond 90 days, submit a written appeal at your nearest SASSA office.
- If your appeal is declined, contact Legal Aid South Africa or Black Sash for free advice.
Sport Relief FAQs
I have never been a professional athlete. Why is my SRD declined for this reason? The most likely causes are an incorrect ID linkage, a household member who used your ID during a sport programme registration, or a rejected application that still left a record in the database. Contact SASSA to identify which record triggered the decline and then contact the relevant administrator for written confirmation.
I received a sport bursary in a previous year. Can this still affect my SRD? Yes, if the record was not properly closed. Contact the relevant department to confirm whether any active record remains under your ID and request written confirmation of the bursary end date covering the assessed month.
I received a once-off competition bonus. Why am I declined for multiple months? A once-off payment can appear in the database as covering multiple months depending on how the data is structured. Contact the programme administrator to confirm in writing which specific month the payment was made and that no benefit was received in the other months.
Can later months be approved after the record is corrected? Yes. SRD is assessed monthly. Once the sport programme record is correctly updated, future monthly assessments should no longer be affected.
What if the online portal blocks an older month? Submit a written appeal at your nearest SASSA office with your confirmation letter and supporting documents specific to the month you are challenging.
Official References
- SRD status portal
- SRD appeals portal
- SRD appeals guidance
- SASSA website
- SASSA helpline: 0800 60 10 11 (free, Monday to Friday)
- SASSA WhatsApp: 082 046 8553
- Department of Sport, Arts and Culture
- DSAC: 012 304 5000
- National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund
- NLDTF: 0800 200 200
- Legal Aid South Africa
- Black Sash
