By Michael Madyira
Preparations for the 2023 Netball World Cup have been thrown into shambles following reports of a budget deficit.
The global tournament will be held in Cape Town from 28 July to 6 August.
Just under five months before the competition, it has emerged that a R34 million budget shortfall has become a major concern for the local organising committee (LOC), according to News24.
The budget for the tournament is said to have almost doubled from R47 million to R101 million in the space of four years.
LOC acting chief financial officer Thabang Moses said they are still in the red despite bailouts from the national and provincial governments as well as the City of Cape Town.
Revenue projections from ticket sales, sponsorship, TV rights, merchandising, licensing, accommodation commission and lodging fees and value-in-kind deals cannot guarantee they will recoup the cost incurred in organising the World Cup.
“The main risk now on the budget is the shortfall,” said Moses as per News24.
“Say, if the projection we have made on the ticket sales is R65 million, what happens if you don’t reach that amount?
“This is because that R65 million is also expected to pay off some expenditure.”
So far, R60 million of the allocated R90 million has been received to prepare for the staging of the World Cup.
“We’re in the last implementation process when all the money that has to be used has to be used,” Moses said.
“We have received R60 million of that money. The first R30 million is most likely the money that we would have already spent.”
South Africa will host 15 other nations for the tournament, to be staged at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Image source: Netball World Cup
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