Cricket SA announces new T20 franchise competition

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Friday announced plans for a new T20 competition.

The governing body said it signed an agreement alongside broadcaster SuperSport to "form a new company that will manage a dynamic new T20 competition".

CSA said plans for the competition were well under way, with the first edition scheduled for January 2023.

January will become the window for the league, which will comprise six privately-owned franchises playing each other in a double round before the top three sides move to the play-off stages.

This will be CSA's third attempt at a glamorous T20 event - the earlier Mzansi Super League was last held in 2019 and the T20 Global League never got off the ground.

"We are excited by the formation of something this fresh and invigorating, which also offers the opportunity for private investment into the franchises," CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki said in a statement.

"CSA has already received interest from a number of potential local and international investors."

Moseki stressed this was an entirely new event, adding that South Africa has a rich crop of talent who would benefit from exposure through a franchise league. He said a sustainable business model had been created for both the league and the teams, with a healthy salary bill to attract the very best local and international players.

SuperSport CEO Marc Jury added: "We are delighted to invest in a product that will change the face of South African cricket. There is an early-year gap in the calendar, so the timing is ideal."

The pay channel confirmed it was committed to live broadcast of all the matches and would also produce a world feed for the international television market.