CSA makes R440m loss in last financial year - TimesLIVE
Cricket South Africa (CSA) suffered a loss of R440m for the 2025/26 financial year due to the absence of major incoming international tours last season, expenses related to hosting next year’s World Cup and a stronger rand, which negatively impacted foreign earnings, adding to the negative outlook.
The organisation had forecast that it would make a loss. The Proteas men’s team remains the primary driver of revenue for the sport in South Africa but played only three T20 Internationals on home soil last season.
Worryingly for CSA, what on paper is a bumper 2026/27 season, which features series against two historic rivals, Australia and England, is not going to prove financially helpful either.
Even the dividend of R43m earned from CSA’s share of the SA20 tournament was offset by the exchange rate.
CSA’s chief financial officer, Tjaart van der Walt, said yesterday in his financial review, which forms part of the organisation’s annual report, that “2027 is budgeted to be a loss-making year, despite a stronger inbound tour calendar… largely on the back of an even stronger rand exchange rate than experienced in 2026”.
He added: “Our view is, however, focused over the next two financial years to April 30 2028, with a material turnaround expected in the 2028 financial year, inclusive of the expected proceeds of the Cricket World Cup in that year.”
Additional expenses resulted from R300m in expenditure on stadium upgrades for the World Cup and the creation of an expanded domestic structure. While the Proteas men didn’t play often, feeder teams such as the SA A side and SA Emerging team had tours to India and England.
“We are further embarking on a revised financial sustainability project, looking at the total cricket ecosystem to align CSA’s increasing cost base with the realities of the current and expected future revenues,” Van der Walt added.
In elections held at CSA’s AGM yesterday, Easterns president Thato Moagi and his South Western Districts counterpart, Mike Eksteen, retained their positions as non-independent directors on CSA’s board.
Four new independent directors were also elected: Adila Chowan, Ziyanda Ncgobo, Simon Denny and Adrian Ristow.
The elections took place with only 11 of the 15 provincial unions allowed to vote. Border and Northern Cape Cricket Unions remain under administration, while on Friday CSA announced that Boland and North West had failed to comply with sections of the Memorandum of Incorporation to which all unions had agreed.
The two unions had failed to conclude their respective AGMs before CSA’s one, while their financial statements had also not been submitted.
Boland claimed that it had requested to hold its AGM three days before CSA’s, but the request was not granted. Provincial unions must conclude their AGMs at least two weeks before CSA’s.
The union also claimed it had changed auditors, which resulted in the late submission of the financial statements. “The Members Council have to hold themselves responsible for ensuring that governance and the improvement in governance are taken seriously,” said CSA president Rihan Richards.
He also explained that the Border and Northern Cape unions had made good progress in resolving the numerous administrative failures that occurred before CSA took over the running of the pair in February 2025.
“They are near to completion. But it is not only about ticking a box. We’ve put in systems to prevent a recurrence of a failure in the structure,” Richards said.
“The board is busy reviewing the steps that have been done. We have been notified that their financials, up to and including 2027, should be (completed) towards the end of October or early November. That’s a positive sign, it will give us a better view of where they are. And then we will look at ensuring that (the unions) are ready to retake the position in the Members Council.”
