---
title: "Upcoming World Cup promises R500m lifeline for ailing Cricket South Africa"
description: "The 2027 Cricket World Cup, to be co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, is a golden opportunity for Cricket South Africa to boost its dwindling financial resources."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "CASHING IN"
authors:
  - name: "Craig Ray"
    url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/craig-ray/"
  - name: "Annemieke Thomaidis"
    url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/annemieke-thomaidis/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-05-cricket-south-africa-world-cup/"
published: "2026-10-05T04:35:00"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 1042
---

# Upcoming World Cup promises R500m lifeline for ailing Cricket South Africa

> The 2027 Cricket World Cup, to be co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, is a golden opportunity for Cricket South Africa to boost its dwindling financial resources.

By Craig Ray and Annemieke Thomaidis · Published 5 October 2026, 06:35 SAST

## Key points
- The 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup could be a financial lifeline for Cricket South Africa, which has reported a staggering R440.6-million net loss.
- CSA is expected to receive about R500-million in hosting fees, while ticket sales may generate only around R102-million – with the ICC retaining most tournament revenue.
- More than 594,000 spectators are projected across southern Africa, including 409,000 general-access tickets, but Ticketpro’s apparent appointment has raised questions about transparency.
- CSA has committed R295-million to stadium upgrades and is banking on the tournament to reverse shrinking revenue, depleted cash reserves and another forecast loss.

## Content

The[2027 ICC Cricket World Cup](https://www.icc-cricket.com/tournaments/icc-cricket-world-cup-2027), to be hosted in southern Africa from 2 October to 21 November, is a potential cash cow for Cricket South Africa (CSA) at a crucial time.

The event will be staged in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Of the 57 matches, 41, including the semifinals and final, will be played in South Africa – meaning the bulk of the revenue from ticket sales and hospitality packages will come from South Africa.

While the [International Cricket Council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cricket_Council) (ICC) owns the event and negotiated its broadcast and sponsorship rights, running the ticketing sales is a local affair even though the ICC keeps the bulk of the ticket income, with CSA receiving only a small percentage of that income.

CSA appointed a local organising committee last year with a mandate to deliver a tournament up to ICC standards and specifications.

CSA reaps the financial benefits of hosting a World Cup from the substantial fee that the ICC pays it to use its facilities under a “host agreement”. Although the exact figures remain confidential, analysing recent ICC financial statements provides a clearer picture of these payouts.

Under the agreement, the ICC pays the home board a hosting fee and covers much of the tournament’s running costs. In return, the host is expected to provide “clean” stadiums – free of any non-World Cup sponsor branding or livery.

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In addition to tournament-ready venues, the ICC requires secure government guarantees and protection from local tax liabilities. The ICC’s audited accounts say this protection comes partly through “indemnity obtained from host cricket boards”.

The ICC has previously deducted a disputed tax bill from a host’s share of central revenue.

Ticket sales and the platform used are the responsibility of the host nation, although the ICC must approve all such decisions. The ICC excludes ticket sales from its primary revenue streams, which it lists as media rights, sponsorship and other commercial income.

The clearest example of how tournament funding works comes from [Cricket West Indies](https://cricviz-westindies-production.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/CWI_2024_Annual_Report_1.pdf), co-host of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Its audited accounts record it received $22-million (approximately R360-million) in hosting fees and $16.5-million (R271-million) in ticketing revenue from the tournament.

Sources told Daily Maverick that CSA’s hosting fee will be close to R500-million, which would go a long way to offsetting the stated R295-million budgeted for stadium upgrades for the event.

![2nd ODI: South Africa v Australia](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/-EBc6qvVRwk4e999J8VoSWgJYko=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2998/TL_2626223_515165.jpg)

*The Wanderers in Johannesburg will host the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final on 21 November. (Photo: Sydney Seshibedi / Gallo Images)*

### Half a million tickets

In a presentation to Parliament in May, CSA revealed that more than half a million tickets would be available for the 2027 World Cup.

CSA’s projections from a commissioned study by the consultancy firm BDO forecast total attendance of 594,767 at the eight South African venues – 85% of the combined capacity of 699,631 across all matches (including in Namibia and Zimbabwe).

South African attendance alone would be about 1.5 times greater than the 399,575 tickets sold in the third SA20 season.

[Read more

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The Wanderers in Johannesburg is projected to draw 139,057 spectators and account for more than a third of all hospitality tickets, followed by Durban (93,821 spectators) and Cape Town (87,333). Of the overall ticket breakdown, general spectators account for 408,819 tickets and hospitality for 82,098. Complimentary passes account for 103,850 (roughly one in six).

![Spectator projections for the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup to be hosted in Southern Africa. (Graphic: DM using Claude AI.)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/yopvbq5hzkknGaFYn1YCy6264Es=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2998/cwc2027_bdo_spectators_graphic_252658.png)

### Ticketpro

It appears that Ticketpro, CSA’s current ticketing platform, which has also sold SA20 tickets during the past four years, is being used for the World Cup.

When Daily Maverick asked CSA if the ticketing process had gone to tender, its response was vague.

“Our ticketing strategy is anchored on trust, balancing access with revenue generation,” said CSA in an emailed response to questions.

“We are bolting in specific principles, based on our access objectives and the learnings from all other events in the region. We are taking experiences in Namibia and Zimbabwe too into consideration. Our strategy is quite robust, future-focused and best in class.”

In reality though, the ticketing income for the tournament is modest compared to the broadcast and sponsorship revenue the ICC expects to earn.

Using the ICC’s previous financial statements, the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and US brought in $691-million in revenue with costs of $159.5-million. A full ODI World Cup can reasonably be expected to earn more than that.

According to the BDO report, the roughly 409,000 general-access tickets for the 2027 World Cup, at an average price of about R250, would only bring in about R102-million. Ticketpro would take a cut of about 4%, which is roughly R4.1-million.

### CSA losses and World Cup boost

After announcing a staggering R440.6-million net loss in its latest [integrated financial report](https://www.cricket.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/13104-CSA-IR-2026-ONLINE-Final.pdf) presented on 27 September, CSA desperately needs a financial windfall.

The 2027 World Cup should provide it.

CSA’s revenue fell by more than R500-million, from R1.39-billion in 2024/25 to R856-million in 2025/2026. That was due to a summer without any home international cricket, which has eaten into the organisation’s cash reserves. A stronger rand/dollar exchange rate, which affected CSA’s broadcast rights revenue paid by the ICC, also had a massively negative impact on finances. CSA put that exchange rate loss at R43-million.

![Hosting the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup will be a boost for CSA’s finances. (Graphic: DM using Claude AI)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/YOUc7qmjNrQJDTmViXVzc7rSOKc=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2998/csa_cwc2027_finances_graphic_879218.png)

Cash and investments fell from R690-million to R280-million, and reserves from R1.42-billion to R981-million. With another loss budgeted for 2026/27, chief financial officer Tjaart van der Walt noted that a “material turnaround” is expected in 2027/28, “inclusive of the expected proceeds of the Cricket World Cup”.

The World Cup has put strain on CSA’s finances because it committed R295-million to stadium upgrades – largely through loans to its provincial affiliates – which will only be repaid after the World Cup.

BDO forecast that the tournament would bring in R6.7-billion in direct spending, R19.7-billion in total economic impact and create 27,347 jobs. **DM**