Hosting the World Cup is vital for coffers of SA Rugby

02 April 2017 - 02:00 By LIAM DEL CARME
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Mark Alexander (SARU deputy president) during the SA Rugby and FlySafair media briefing at O.R. Tambo International Airport on March 29, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mark Alexander (SARU deputy president) during the SA Rugby and FlySafair media briefing at O.R. Tambo International Airport on March 29, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Image: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

South Africa's last chance of hosting the Rugby World Cup may be in 2023.

That stark warning came from SA Rugby president Mark Alexander, who believes expensive infrastructure upgrades are unlikely to be a priority for the country beyond that tournament. The infrastructure put in place for the 2010 World Cup is starting to take strain and politicians' appetite to splurge on major sporting events is already on the wane.

"From a country point of view it is important to host it to maximise the investment we made in stadia," said Alexander. "If it goes beyond 2023 there will be a large maintenance programme we have to do and the upgrading of those stadiums, which will make it a bit difficult for us to host the World Cup again."

SA Rugby is also in a race against time to ease the financial pressure it is under. Hosting the tournament is an economic imperative for the cash-strapped organisation. SA Rugby recorded a R23.3-million loss in tough economic conditions last year and while they are trying to reinvent themselves by attracting investors and sponsors, they have a way to go.

It is against that boom-or-bust backdrop that they are hoping to secure hosting rights ahead of France and Ireland.

"We don't want to sketch a doomsday scenario," said Alexander, who is sanguine about the country's prospects of hosting the tournament. "What is positive about it now is that delegates in September will vote on the recommendations of the technical assessment committee."

That means the horse trading that characterised previous bidding processes has been outlawed. New Zealand used the magnetism of the All Black brand to their advantage in beating South Africa to hosting rights for the 2011 tournament.

"It is not like in the past where we have to buy votes and offer people things. This time around it will be based on the quality of your value proposition," said Alexander.

"In the rugby world I think they are aware of what we can do from a technical point of view. We can deliver matches and events."

He said he hopes France and Ireland will split votes in Europe and said it is about time South Africa again hosted the tournament it so famously staged in 1995.

World Rugby, however, is unlikely to yield to sentiment. "South Africa is no longer the flavour of the month. I think Cuba has replaced us in that sense," warned marketing and sponsorship procurement guru George Rautenbach.

"We need the World Cup because it gives us focus over the next six, seven years. It is also a significant windfall.

"We saw what it did in 2010 with the soccer World Cup, in 1996 with the African Cup of Nations and the 2003 Cricket World Cup. It brings us together and we need it," said Rautenbach.

Clearly hosting the fight for the Webb Ellis Cup will mean the world to SA Rugby.

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