South Africa is unlikely to bid to host the 2035 or 2039 Rugby World Cups.
This comes after the president of SA Rugby, Mark Alexander, said he would tell the game’s governing body in South Africa not to put in bids for the 2035 or 2039 tournaments.
Alexander was quoted as saying: “Sure there is an economic impact and the last time we put together a bid for the 2023 tournament it was R6.8-billion. However, 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.”
In addition, a number of stadiums would likely need to be upgraded in order to meet World Rugby’s requirements.
Alexander said: “We know some stadiums have not been maintained properly. 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.”
South Africa has only hosted the World Cup once, in 1995.
The next World Cup, in 2027, will be hosted in Australia, while the 2031 tournament is scheduled to be held in the United States.
A number of countries have expressed interested in hosting the 2035 tournament, including Spain, Qatar, the UAE, and Italy.
[Image: President Cyril Ramaphosa joins the Springboks on stage after the team won the 2023 Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks. https://www.flickr.com/photos/governmentza/53297116069]