Ramaphosa leads SA delegation to London to bid for 2023 Rugby World Cup

21st September 2017 By: Sashnee Moodley - Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia

Ramaphosa leads SA delegation to London to bid for 2023 Rugby World Cup

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa

As part of South Africa’s bid to host the Rugby World Cup 2023 tournament, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and a high-level delegation will make their way to London on Sunday to make a presentation to the World Rugby Council.
 
The delegation will consist of Sport and Recreation Minister Thulas Nxesi and his Deputy Minister Gert Oosthuizen, as well as SA Rugby President Mark Alexander and Chief Executive Officer Jurie Roux, who will lay out South Africa’s technically and commercially compelling case to host the tournament.

South Africa will make its presentation on Monday, September 25 and will be up against contenders Ireland and France. 

Ramaphosa has called on all South Africans to show their support for Team South Africa as the delegation enters the final stages of securing the Rugby World Cup 2023.

The Presidency released a statement on Thursday stating that Ramaphosa’s participation in the visit demonstrated the government’s support for and commitment to the effort to return the tournament to the African continent in the twenty-first century, having hosted the tournament in 1995.
 
“Contractually, this commitment is demonstrated by the fact that the South African government has, as the lead partner in the bid process, signed off on all the requirements stipulated by the World Rugby Council, satisfying more than the required minimum guarantee in the process,” said the statement.
 
The World Rugby Council will announce the host of the 2023 Rugby World Cup on November 15.