Cricket SA distances itself from board member’s ‘unwarranted’ tweets

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has apologised to insurance giant Momentum, following a series of Tweets made by one of the sports body’s board members.

The company announced earlier in the week that it would not renew its partnership with CSA when the current deal entered between the two parties ends in April 2021.

In making the decision to pull the plug, Momentum cited dissatisfaction with the much-documented state of affairs at the organisation.

CSA apologises to Momentum

In a since-deleted Tweet, Dr Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw – who is serving as the chair of CSA’s transformation committee – dubbed the decision by Momentum as “irrational”, stating that the company “forgets that we invest hundreds of millions in Momentum in our SOE investments and pension funds”.

On Wednesday, CSA moved to distance itself from the Tweet by issuing an apology to Momentum.

“Cricket South Africa (CSA) sincerely apologises to Momentum for the unfortunate and unwarranted tweets made by one of our Board Members, in her personal capacity. CSA wishes to reiterate that Dr Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw did not act in her professional position as a non-executive board member of CSA,” the organisation’s acting president, Beresford Williams said in a statement.

“While we respect the personal views of all South Africans, CSA wishes to distance itself from the articulations made by Dr Kula-Ameyaw on Twitter. We further wish to reiterate that CSA does not ascribe to the views expressed regarding Momentum and we sincerely value the benefits Momentum and all our sponsors bring in making cricket accessible and inclusive for all South Africans.”

Beresford Williams

Putting out fires

Momentum have been the title sponsors of the men’s premier domestic One Day tournament, as well as that of the women’s national team.

Williams thanked the company for its contribution towards South African cricket.

“We thank Momentum for the substantial contributions they have made towards cricket upliftment and the milestones we achieved through their sponsorship and we assure them, that we will continue to build on the successes to grow and develop the game of cricket even further,” he said.

Beresford Williams

CSA said corrective action would be taken, following the latest controversy.