Majola knocks speculation about board's finances

Responding to media reports of a financial crisis in South African cricket, Gerald Majola, the chief executive officer of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA), has issued a statement showing cricket's firm footing in the country's consciousness as well as its good financial health. There had been speculation that the board would find itself bankrupt within 18 months, and this spurred the UCBSA into clarifying that its sponsor base, an ingredient vital for the success of a sport, was as strong as ever, and that even its amateur league had found financial backing.

Majola stressed that a strong rand had affected the board, as it had other companies in South Africa, but that measures were in place to increase revenues. These included cost-cutting as well as internal auditing. "We have the backing of major sponsors such as Standard Bank, SA Breweries, SABC, SuperSport, National Brands, SA Airways, Southern Sun, Mutual and Federal, Coca-Cola, PG Bison, Energade, Budget, and Hummel. "

Even the vacancy left by MTN, a major sponsor, would be filled by other companies. "For instance," Majola said, "SA Airways has signed as a sponsor of the new provincial amateur league which is a first for South African cricket ... Another new sponsorship is the Standard Bank Pro20 Series. This has proved an out-and-out hit, attracting record crowds." This had also helped increase the value of the sponsorship base by R25million.

Majola added that for the fourth successive year cricket was the second-most popular sport in South Africa.