Sport24.co.za | SA Rugby gets R330m 2023 RWC ‘consolation’
Cape Town – South African Rugby is set for a R330m windfall from the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
When France was surprisingly awarded hosting rights – despite World Rugby recommending South Africa hold the tournament – it was revealed they had promised the highest financial return of £350m (R6 billion) to the sport’s governing body.
The Telegraph website reported that the breakdown of projected returns to the individual unions “showed why the French bid proved so attractive”.
The 10 tier-one countries (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy) are expected to share a record £192.5m (R3.3 billion) payout from World Rugby because of the decision to stage the 2023 tournament in France.
That means a bonus of around $330m to SA Rugby.
“That sounds like a lot of money for the tier-one market but they generate 95 percent of the revenues in a World Cup,” Brett Gosper, World Rugby chief executive, said.
The remainder of the money will be invested into tier two and tier three countries and to develop the game in untapped markets such as Germany, Brazil, China, India and the USA.
In the controversial voting system, Ireland were eliminated from the World Cup hosting process in the first round, getting just eight votes while France received 18 and South Africa 13.
France won the decisive second round from South Africa with the votes going 24-15 in their favour.