SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has appeared to kill off South Africa’s hopes of hosting the Rugby World Cup over the next 15 years.
The last time the global tournament was held in the country was in 1995, three years after the Springboks were accepted back into the international game.
They have been constantly overlooked since then, despite throwing their hat into the ring in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023.
Next Rugby World Cup locations
With the men’s and women’s World Cups already locked in for Australia (2027 and 2029) and the USA (2031 and 2033), 2035 and 2039 are the next to be decided.
However, Alexander has all but ruled out that possibility due to the financial issues within South Africa.
“Sure there is an economic impact and the last time we put together a bid for the 2023 tournament it was R6.8-billion,” he told the Sunday Times.
“However, the government has to provide a lot of support by way of infrastructure and security. There is also the financial guarantee that has to be provided up front.”
Earlier in the week, the South African government offered a potential lifeline with Deputy Minister of Sports, Art and Culture, Peace Mabe, claiming that it could be viable if corporate stakeholders also came on board.
“Rugby is big business,” Mabe told IOL.
“The economic spin-offs in terms of tourism will be big. If (SA) Rugby says we are going to host in South Africa, it will fill up hotels with immediate effect, they would be booked. We would appreciate that type of initiative.
“But, we are the No. 1 team in the world, so we also don’t want to be seen as bullies by taking the hosting away from the world. Let’s share with them.”
‘We have to act responsibly’
Alexander disagrees, though, and will inform SA Rugby of his opinion on the matter, believing that certain issues within the sport need to be prioritised over potentially hosting the World Cup.
“We know some stadiums have not been maintained properly,” he said. “It just brings so many other challenges to the country. People think it is just a sports event but so many other things have to be activated.
“I will tell SARU not to do this. There’s other stuff more urgent than the World Cup. We are a third-world country. Our economy is not strong and we have to act responsibly.
“I know our members would love to host the World Cup but for now and all the challenges we have, we will be putting the country through undue pressure.
“I know sport does a lot for social cohesion but I think it would be unfair on government to put up guarantees. I think it will be unfair as a sport to put our country through that again.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/rugby-world-cup-hosting-hopes-killed-off-for-third-world-country-south-africa-after-brutal-sa-rugby-comments
