P 081144Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3042
INFO AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 
AMEMBASSY ABUJA 
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 
AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 
AMCONSUL DURBAN

UNCLAS CAPE TOWN 000085 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SF SCUL
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA TO HOST INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE CRICKET 
 
¶1. (U)On March 24, 2009 Indian Premier League(IPL)chairman, Lalit 
Modi announced that South Africa would host the IPL Twenty20 event 
due to security concerns following the attack on the Sri Lankan 
cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan. The IPL will now kick-off on April 
18 in Cape Town with the final to be played on May 24 in 
Johannesburg. 
 
¶2. (U) South Africa beat England to the hosting rights because of 
several factors, including weather, finances, television rights and 
the speedy issuing of more than 1000 visas. Rain is less likely to 
affect matches in South Africa than England during the tournament 
period and with the U.S. dollar worth almost 10 rand it is an 
attractive option financially. In addition, Johannesburg-based 
sports channel SuperSport holds the rights to the IPL and 
international cricket in South Africa. Venues in South Africa will 
also be readily available as the domestic cricket season ends on 
April 9. Cricket South Africa indicated that another deciding factor 
was government's assurances that the 1000 plus visas required would 
be processed swiftly and the tournament would receive "red-carpet 
treatment." 
 
¶3. (U) There have been concerns over player safety in South Asia 
following the Mumbai attacks in November 2008 and the specific 
targeting by armed militants of the Sri Lankan cricket team on tour 
in Pakistan in March. Indian officials have indicated that they are 
not able to provide adequate security to ensure player safety due to 
the fact that India's Parliamentary elections will be taking place 
during the same time frame. In press reports, India's cricket chief 
Shashank Manohar, said "due to the attitude of the government that 
it cannot provide security for the tournament, we are forced to take 
a decision to move the IPL out of India." There is terrorism in all 
four cricket-playing nations of the sub-continent, namely, India, 
Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In 1996, Australia and the West 
Indies refused to send teams to Sri Lanka after terrorist bombings 
in the country.  There has been considerable resistance from players 
from outside South Asia to tour there. Pakistan has not had a 
cricket series for a year and is now unlikely to host any sort of 
international cricket in the foreseeable future. 
 
¶4. (U) Both player and stadium security will be handled by Nicholls 
Steyn and Associates, a South African based global security 
consultant firm. CEO Robert Nicholls confirmed that his company is 
strategizing with the South African Police Services as well as local 
metro police to provide the best security for the event. He 
indicated that security would follow a similar model to that of last 
years T20 World Cup staged in South Africa. Nicholls stated that he 
is working with international intelligence agencies to monitor any 
possible terror threats, but due to security concerns was unable to 
elaborate on this matter. Comment: It is not expected that South 
Africa will encounter the same threat level for terror attacks as if 
the event were held in India. Although security is always a concern, 
the general feeling is that the attacks were isolated to the South 
Asia region and should not pose as serious a problem for South 
Africa. End Comment 
 
¶5. (U) The IPL is a huge money maker; it earned $724 million from 
franchises last year while nearly two billion people cumulatively 
watched the games over the tournament. Although much of the profits 
will remain with the IPL, South Africa will reap financial benefits 
in other ways. PolAsst spoke with Don McIntosh COO of Cricket South 
Qin other ways. PolAsst spoke with Don McIntosh COO of Cricket South 
Africa (CSA) who indicated that CSA will receive a hosting fee of 
R90 million (USD 9 million).  In addition, he predicted that the IPL 
would use more than 30,000 hotel rooms and 10,000 domestic airline 
tickets over the next six weeks creating a major boost to South 
Africa's economy, especially the struggling airline industry. The 
IPL has also concluded ground transport contracts with leading car 
hire firms. It is expected that the IPL could net South Africa $15 
million over six weeks. Comment: If South Africa can organize the 
IPL at such short notice it will surely serve as a boost in the run 
up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup.  In addition, it is hoped that the 
publicity South Africa will receive from the event will encourage 
travelers to head for South Africa.  However, all these positive 
factors are dependent on whether the IPL proceeds without incident. 
End Comment