adminJOHANNESBURG. — The impact of the coronavirus crisis on global sport has seen administrations, franchises and clubs scramble in an effort to survive.
In South Africa currently, there is no sport taking place, and that will continue to be the case throughout level four of the national lockdown, which gets underway at the beginning of May. It has been a tough pill to swallow for this sports-mad community, and in every code the powers that be are looking for ways to get players back on the field — and back on television screens — as soon as possible.
The financial impact of the lockdown has been severe and pay cuts at the highest level are becoming commonplace, but the impact extends far deeper than just the professional organisations. At club level, money is not always guaranteed and is often dependent on income generated from its own members and willing sponsors. The 2020 club rugby season, for example, was suspended just as it was about to begin and, at this stage, it is very difficult to see how it will return this year. The financial burden that places the clubs under is significant and while some clubs are better off than others, the impact is felt by all with funds drying up.
“We have a huge amount of sponsorship coming into our club every year for us to be sustainable,” Johnathan van der Walt, head coach of the False Bay 1st XV in Cape Town, told Sport24.
“They spend a lot of money with us and when there is no rugby, they obviously have to withhold their money and with business being tight, I can’t even see sponsors being as willing and giving with their money even after we go back.”
Other sports clubs in the region have started asking members for donations so that they can pay their full-time staff, which includes everyone from administrators to caterers and those involved in the maintenance of fields and facilities. — Sport24.
Online Reporter