The theme for this year's awards is, 'Today's Leaders, Tomorrow's Legends'. The awards will be held on 21 August at Sun City in the North West province.
The event is a programme of the Sports and Recreation Department in partnership with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the North West Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
Mbalula said: "The Sports Awards are imperative as they are not only a platform for incentive and jollity for sport excellence, but a celebration of human triumph."
The award categories are: Administrator of the Year; Sportsman of the Year; Sportsman of the Year with a Disability; Sportswoman of the Year; Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability; Team of the Year.
Newcomer of the Year; Coach of the Year; Steve Tshwete Lifetime Achievement Award; Volunteer of the Year; Minister's Award; Indigenous Games Star of the Year; Federation of the Year; Photographer of the Year; Journalist of the Year and Sports Star of the Year.
To ensure that the awards are fairly done, an auditing company will be appointed to oversee the process.