Cricket South Africa will be losing out on its ODI sponsor Momentum, whose contract is set to expire in 2021. Momentum is currently unhappy with the current state of affairs at CSA regarding the governance issues and as a result, has decided to back out from being the sponsor.
In an official statement, Momentum has made it clear that it will not renew its sponsorship of international ODIs, the franchise one-day cup, the national club championships, the under-13, under-15 and under-17 school’s weeks and development initiatives, together with the Momentum Friendship Games and the eKasi Challenge.
However, the financial services brand will continue to sponsor the national women’s team until 2023.
Carel Bosman, head of sponsorships at Momentum said, “We will continue our dialogue with CSA to keep them accountable to do the right thing. We all want to see a governing body that is run professionally and ethically, and one that considers all stakeholders to the game.”
CSA now has a rocky path to look forward since Momentum is the second major sponsor to cut ties with Cricket South Africa after Standard Bank, who opted out their support in December last year.
Lately, there has been a lot of turmoil within the CSA as the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) asked the country’s cricketing board and executive to step aside. However, the SASCOC had cleared out that they are just going by the law in the country and there is no government interference in it of any regard.
As per the guidelines issued by ICC, it is clearly stated that the country’s cricket board’s matters must be administered autonomously and there should be no government interference in it.
SASCOC is recognized by the National Sports and Recreation Act of 1998. It is the only sports confederation in South Africa, and all the sporting bodies in South Africa operate under its guidelines.