Betway Becomes SA20 Cricket Sponsor
Online sports betting platform Betway has secured a contract which will make it the inaugural title sponsor of the newly formed South African T20 cricket league. Named Betway SA20, the tournament will start in January 2023 and will feature six South African team competing against each other for four weeks and playing 33 games. The tournament is part of the Twenty20 franchise. Expected to turn into one of the major sports events on the continent, Betway SA20 will feature 102 international players.
The new contract between Betway and Cricket South Africa means that Betway will enjoy full brand cover of the country’s professional cricket formats, thus making it the main partner of CSA. The six teams that will be taking part are Durban Super Giants, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Joburg Super Kings, Pretoria Capitals, Paarl Royals, and MI Cape Town. They will play two games against each other in the group stages, and then the top three will continue to the playoff stages.
The Betway SA20 tournament has been long in the making. Cricket South Africa initially tried to organise the T20 Global League in 2017, however a broadcast deal and a title sponsor could not be secured. The next attempt was Mzansi Super League, which featured six teams, all owned by Cricket South Africa. After 2 seasons, the tournament had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The new tournament is a partnership between Cricket South Africa who holds the majority share of 50%, South African broadcast group SuperSport (30%), and Sundar Raman, ex-COO of the Indian Premier League for cricket, who holds 20%. The commissioner for the tournament will be renowned South African cricketer and cricket commentator Graeme Smith who captained the national team and played over 500 games throughout his career. In relation to the agreement with Betway, Smith commented:
“This is another significant milestone for us as we welcome Betway to our growing list of invested partners. They are a global brand with a passionate interest in cricket around the world and we look forward to seeing the Betway SA20 scale new markets and audiences globally.”
The deal between Betway and Cricket South Africa probably means that Betway will be offering exclusive sports betting deals, preferential odds, and customer bonuses to bettors who use its platform to bet on games in the Betway SA20 tournament. At present, Betway has an excellent introductory offer for its Irish sportsbook and ranks amongst our top free bet offers at Betfree – “Bet €10 get €30”. In addition to this, the Betway Ireland online casino offers up to €250 in free bets to new customers who sign up through the betfree.ie bonus link.
Speaking about the partnership with Cricket South Africa, Betway CEO Anthony Werkman said:
“With the competition drawing attention from all corners of the world and with the huge excitement building for the launch of the tournament, we are delighted to see the Betway brand continue to showcase its long-standing commitment to the sport with another top-tier sponsorship.”
Betway also pointed out that it fully supports, and is committed to help, the tournament’s goal to become the “biggest cricket league in the world outside of India”. It is well-known that the sports betting platform is always on the lookout for opportunities to support South African pro and grassroots sports.
As part of the preparations for January 2023, the tournament also secured a major deal with ViacomSports 18, which is one of the premium and most watched Indian sports network. The agreement will last for 10 years.
Are there any favourites to win the Betway SA20?
It is hard to say. All teams have experienced and valuable players with significant playing time, both at home and abroad.
Some of the most expensive players in the tournament are Tristan Stubbs (SunRisers Eastern Cape – €104k), Rilee Rossouw (Pretoria Capital – €78k), Marco Jansen (SunRisers Eastern Cape – €69k), Wayne Parnell (Pretoria Capitals – €64k), and Donovan Ferreira (Joburg Super Kings – €62k).
The next 5 more expensive players are shared by Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, and Paarl Royals, with MI Cape Town being the only team who does not share in the top 10 most expensive players of the tournament.
However, based on overall squads and the strengths of the coaches, betting experts and sports betting website favour Paarl Royals and MI Cape Town as the favourites to lift the first ever Betway SA20 cup. As the tournament has not started yet and there are a lot of factors to consider, these are simply predictions. More concrete, facts-based odds will be available nearer the time.