SA Rugby is reportedly facing the prospect of a R258-million budget deficit for the year 2023, as it also struggles to attract a main sponsor for the Currie Cup.
According to Sunday newspaper Rapport, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander told the sporting body’s executive committee of the shortfall at a meeting in Cape Town at the end of January.
It is believed that a lack of a main sponsor for the Currie Cup, which will see an expanded eight-team Currie Cup Premier Division begin in March, has compounded its financial woes.
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Also, according to Rapport, Alexander is filling in as acting CEO, as SA Rugby is understood to have been unable to convince Rian Oberholzer to step into the gap left by Jurie Roux.
“The deficit can be attributed to the fact that SA Rugby does not want to cut its 14 unions’ grants,” a source told Rapport.
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“The 258m is the worst-case scenario that Alexander outlined. It could end up being less than that.
“The sponsors run because the unions change the Currie Cup every year. It’s the third sponsor running on it.”
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