South Africa has become accustomed to looking in the wrong places for jobs.
We debate manufacturing, mining, infrastructure, technology and tourism as if they are separate answers to our unemployment crisis, while overlooking an industry that already connects many of them: sport.
At the recent Future of Jobs Summit, SASCOC president Barry Hendricks made a striking observation about sport's contribution to the economy when he stated that sport is “employing over 600,000 people directly.”
That figure should prompt a much bigger national conversation, particularly because it raises a question South Africa has yet to answer adequately: what is the full economic and employment value of our sports economy?
Other countries have begun answering precisely these questions.
The United Kingdom has developed a methodology to measure the economic contribution of sport across the wider economy.
Its research estimated that sport directly supports almost 1.29 million jobs, equivalent to 5.1% of total employment. France has connected measurement with employment policy, mapping sports occupations, vacancies, qualifications and training opportunities.
Saudi Arabia offers a different lesson. Rather than simply measuring an existing sports economy, it is deliberately building one. Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia identifies sport as a strategic economic pillar, targets a sports market and non-oil GDP contribution of approximately $22.7 billion by 2030, and expects more than 135,000 new sports jobs to be created by then. Since 2019, it has hosted more than 150 major international sporting events.
These examples demonstrate three different stages of sports-led economic development: the UK is measuring the sports economy; France is connecting sport to skills and employment pathways; and Saudi Arabia is deliberately investing in sport as a growth industry.
South Africa should be asking where it wants to sit in that progression.
We already possess many of the ingredients of a substantial sports economy. We host international events, have globally recognised sporting brands, possess major venues, attract international visitors, have a sophisticated tourism industry and have a young population with enormous, untapped talent.
Yet we still tend to think about sport primarily in terms of athletes, teams and events. That is too narrow.
The athlete is only the visible tip of the sports economy. Behind every major sporting event are stadium workers, security personnel, caterers, transport operators, hotel employees, broadcasters, technicians, marketers, journalists, content creators, medical professionals, event managers, technology specialists and countless suppliers. Beyond the event itself are sports science, coaching, fitness, academies, sports technology, merchandise, media, tourism and professional services.
The question, therefore, is not whether sport creates jobs. It clearly does. The question is how many more jobs could sport create if South Africa treated it as an economic sector rather than primarily as entertainment?
Tourism provides the obvious bridge. A visitor who comes to South Africa for cricket, rugby, golf or a marathon does not simply buy a ticket. They buy a flight, occupy a hotel room, use transport, eat in restaurants, visit attractions and often extend their stay. Sport creates the reason to travel; tourism captures much of the economic value of that journey.
The 2027 Cricket World Cup provides an extraordinary opportunity. We should not only ask whether we can successfully stage the tournament. We should ask how many additional visitors it can attract, how much they can spend, how many local businesses can enter its supply chain, how many young people can gain work experience and how many jobs and enterprises can be supported as a consequence.
There is another dimension: talent. Sport is not simply a consumer of talent; it is a developer of talent and a gateway into employment. The future sports economy needs coaches, sports scientists, physiotherapists, psychologists, event managers, marketers, broadcasters, data analysts, software developers, lawyers, hospitality specialists, entrepreneurs and commercial executives, as well as athletes.
The equation is therefore more powerful than sport creates jobs. It is sport creates demand, talent creates capability and jobs create prosperity. This is where the sports economy intersects with South Africa's ambition to become a talent nation. If sporting events can be deliberately used to identify, develop and deploy talent into meaningful careers, sport becomes part of the solution to unemployment.
South Africa has already demonstrated that it can host the world. The 2010 FIFA World Cup showed the nation-building power of sport and what becomes possible when government, business, tourism and society mobilise around a common project.
The next step should be more ambitious. The 2027 Cricket World Cup should become an opportunity to demonstrate a South African model of sports-led economic development. We should enter those events knowing not only how many spectators we expect, but how many jobs, enterprises, skills, visitors and investment opportunities we intend to create.
We should be asking why a country facing unemployment of more than 30% has not yet built the measurement, investment and policy architecture necessary to unlock the full employment potential of one of its most globally competitive industries. The United Kingdom measures it. France connects it to skills. Saudi Arabia is investing in it.
South Africa should now build its own model. The next victory for South African sport should not only be measured on the scoreboard. It should also be measured in the number of people whose lives are changed because the game was played. From the stadium to the street, sport can become a jobs engine.
Dr Nik Eberl is the founder and executive chair: The Future of Jobs Summit™ (Official T20 Side Event). He is also the author of Nation of Champions: How South Africa won the World Cup of Destination Branding).
**The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Media Group.