It seems that the quota situation surrounding South African sport keeps escalating into something bigger, almost everytime. In a shocking move, the country’s Sports Minister has banned Cricket South Africa (CSA) from hosting or even bidding for any major international competition on its soil.
Sport24 reported Fikile Mbalula issuing the harsh statement which also extends to other national bodies such as South African Rugby Union and Athletics South Africa for falling short of the ‘Transformation Barometer’.
However, the ruling will not impact any bi-lateral cricket tours on South African soil.
During the ‘Eminent Persons Group on Transformation in Sport’ in Pretoria, Mbalula stated, “I have resolved to revoke the privilege of Athletics South Africa (ASA), Cricket South Africa (CSA), Netball South Africa (NSA) and South African Rugby (SARU) to host and bid for major and mega international tournaments in the Republic of South Africa as a consequence of the aforementioned federations, not meeting their own set transformation targets with immediate effect.”
The population of South Africa is predominantly black with whites being the minority. However, cricket in the ‘Rainbow Nation’ has mostly been dominated by white people which has led to the sports ministry framing a 60 percent quota of colored players in all national teams.
Also Read: How justified is the quota system in South African cricket?
Despite plenty of young black cricketers such as Kagiso Rabada and Temba Bavuma capturing the nation’s attention with their skills, there is a growing discontentment among the sporting circles regarding the composition in the team.
Mbalula reiterated that 84 percent of South Africa’s Under-18 population was black with the remaining 16 percent comprising of white, colored and Asian people. Recollecting the travails of the black people during Apartheid, he claimed that calling for an increased representation of the majority community was morally right.
But, there is still some hope that the issue may be resolved within the next year or two. Mbalula who belongs to the black ethnicity, assured, "I will review this decision when considering the results of the 2016/2017 Transformation Barometer.”
South Africa are not scheduled to host any multi-nation cricket tournaments for the next few years. But, there is an U-19 Cricket World Cup slated to be held in the nation during 2020.
The decision also rules out CSA from lobbying for any international competition in the aforementioned sports until the suspension is lifted. It might also have implications on the financial affairs of the board too.
While South African Football Association (SAFA) escaped from the penalty by a whisker, the Sports Ministry reprimanded them as well for the slow progress with which the sport was promoted in private schools.
The 45-year old Mbalula noted, “It is not my intention to disrupt the momentum gained from the implementation of the Transformation Barometer and the global competitive edge of some federations and sports bodies.”
Not quite satisfied with the progress made in this regard, he added, “However, I am mindful of the urgent task for federations to move with speed in the direction of providing quality of opportunities and access to the youth of our country.”
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