South African Olympic body removes CSA; takes control of cricket in country    

In a major development, South Africa Olympic body has taken control of the Cricket South Africa (CSA), according to reports in Cricbuzz. The decision could be a major issue for cricket in the country as it may fall on International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rules in government interference and could possibly lead to a suspension at the international level.



In a letter from South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to CSA, it demanded ‘the CSA board and those senior executives who serve ex-officio on the board (the company secretary, the acting CEO, the CFO and the COO) to step aside from the administration of CSA on full pay'.



The decision comes in after a meeting on Tuesday (September 8) which was passed by unanimous vote. SASCOC governs the relationship between the state and sports federations and has the power to put CSA under administration.



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This comes in after a pending month-long investigation by the task team, to which SASCOC termed ‘many instances of maladministration and malpractice that have occurred since at least December 2019’. “This has manifestly caused great concern and consternation amongst your own members, former and current members of the national team of the Proteas, stakeholders, sponsors, and members of the cricket-loving public,” the letter said.



“There can be no doubt that this has caused cricket to lose the trust and confidence of members of the public, stakeholders, sponsors and the players represented by SACA (the South African Cricketers’ Association). All this has brought cricket into disrepute,” it added. SASCOC also took a view of CSA’s weak approach to a forensic report into the organisation’s state of affairs.



“SASCOC has attempted to address these issues in two meetings with the CSA board: one was exploratory, and the other failed to take place mainly because of the fact that CSA failed to make the... forensic report available to the SASCOC board despite promises and undertakings by CSA to do so,” the letter further read.



“CSA is in receipt of our letter which records that the board's decision to make the said report available only on a limited basis to the president and board members of SASCOC, is wholly unreasonable and irrational given the apparent nature and scope of the report.”