"It is said that [as the government] we are autonomous and we cannot intervene when there are problems," Mbalula said.

"Sepp Blatter is not going to tell me that when Safa is [not performing] in South Africa and the people are hurt, I must not intervene.

"He must go and run his Zurich office. The people of South Africa must live large and be happy about football.

"Your money must go into good hands of football administrators. That goes for cricket, that goes for rugby."

Addressing business leaders and sports administrators at the Park Hyatt Hotel, in Rosebank, northern Johannesburg, yesterday, Mbalula said the government would intervene in alleged wrongdoing to ensure good governance in all federations.

He called on businessmen to inject more money into sports development.

He said, unlike other countries, he would not be bullied by federations like Fifa.

In October 2010, Fifa, under Blatter's leadership, suspended the Nigerian national team from world football, citing interference by the Nigerian government.

The team was suspended for two years after a poor showing in the 2010 soccer World Cup - held in South Africa - and for allegations of corruption.

Mbalula said Fifa's actions in Nigeria would not deter him from intervening in the SA Football Association's affairs if necessary.

"We know in Nigeria they lost [in the World Cup] and then the government there was going to intervene, but Blatter came in and said that they don't want government intervention in football because he is a government on his own," Mbalula said.

"You can see when you are next to him that he is a real government of the world," he said.

Mbalula also warned sports bodies that a "culture of corruption" would drive investors away.

He said donors would not channel money to an environment plagued by theft and mismanagement.

Sponsors have been wary of putting money into Cricket SA since the bonus scandal erupted in the organisation when CEO Gerald Majola paid bonuses to himself and select staff allegedly without board approval.

Majola reportedly earned R1.8-million in unauthorised bonuses.

Cricket SA is also likely to lose one of its last two sponsors, Sunfoil, according to Business Day yesterday. That would leave only Castle Lager as a sponsor.

Mbalula said he was forced to intervene because people were dragging their feet.

Last October, Mbalula ordered an inquiry into alleged corruption at Cricket SA following a report by auditors KPMG into the organisation's financial affairs.

The inquiry, headed by Judge Chris Nicholson, is expected to report to the minister at the end of the month.

Mbalula said he did not want to comment on the cricket bonus issue because it was subject to an inquiry, but added: "It cannot be right for corporate South Africa.

"We have made it clear that we will not collaborate with corrupt activities in sport."

Mbalula said the failure by Safa and Bafana to correctly read the rules of the Africa Cup of Nations for qualifying "cannot inspire us to invest our money in a business that does not inspire us".

Asked about the probability of a white Springbok rugby coach being appointed on Friday, the minister said: "It is not the colour that defines development. Even if you can put a black person to become coach, it depends on the material you have. We do not want a racist social certification debate when the Springboks go overseas - how many blacks are there in the team?"

Mbalula also called on business to invest more sponsorships in sports development.

He repeated a call made in November at a sports indaba for the National Lotteries Board to invest R200-million in schools sport.

He said there was a strong case for "an uninterrupted continuation of the quota system" to help transform sport.

PLANS TO LEVEL PLAYING FIELDS

ALEC Moemi, the director-general of the Department of Sports and Recreation, says it has discussed with sports unions a plan to rope in former athletes, coaches and unemployed university sports science graduates to assist in teacher coaching.

Moemi says this is part of the department's school sports plan.

He says that, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, the department will, from February 15, roll out the programme.

The Department of Basic Education has been asked to reintroduce physical education as a compulsory subject .

Also to be introduced are five-level school leagues. Pupils will take part in intra-school competitions between February and March, inter-school contests from March to May, district competitions in May, provincial knockout competitions in July and provincial finals in December.