Five reasons why SA’s RWC 2023 bid succeeded

South Africa has been chosen as the preferred candidate to host the Rugby World Cup 2023.

1. Financial guarantees from government

Despite an initial ban by former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula preventing SA Rugby from bidding for RWC 2023‚ when Thulas Nxesi took over earlier this year‚ government threw its weight behind the bid.

Key to the backing was government’s £160m (R2.9bn) financial guarantee to World Rugby‚ which allayed fears of commercial failure for the union.

2. Lobbying for a transparent process

SA Rugby were one of the driving forces behind a change in the bidding process that would allow for more transparency.

SA Rugby‚ led by chief executive Jurie Roux‚ pushed for an evaluation process that weighted key criteria and that was made public to eliminate ‘horse-trading’ at the voting stage.

3. Stadiums and infrastructure already in place

Thanks to hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup‚ SA has eight all-seater‚ modern stadiums to host the matches.

The smallest venue has a capacity of 43500 while the National Stadium where the final and opening match will take place‚ has a capacity of over 87436 making it the biggest RWC stadium of all time.

As a result of the facilities there is a projection of a record 2.9m ticket sales‚ which will further swell World Rugby’s coffers.

4. Time zone‚ value for money and fan experience

With SA in the same time zone as the lucrative European TV market‚ the SA bid lost no ground to Ireland and France.

SA’s climate in spring is also perfect for rugby while foreign visitors will have much more spending power given the strength of the dollar‚ pound and euro against the rand.

Hotels and airports were upgraded for 2010 and will only need minor tweaks in the coming years.

5. Proven track record

SA has staged major international sporting events.

The huge success with the 2010 FIFA World Cup is the most prominent.

RWC 1995‚ the 1996 African Cup of Nations and the 2003 Cricket World Cup are the three other major sporting events this country has successfully hosted in the past quarter of a century.