World Rugby has announced that France will be the host nation of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n
South Africa’s bid had previously been named as the \u201cunanimous\u201d choice by the Rugby World Cup board to host the tournament, ahead of both France and Ireland.<\/p>\n
The announcement follows SA Rugby’s submission of a\u00a0827-page, 8.2kg bid book which included a commitment from the South African government to exceed the minimum guarantee of \u00a3120 million (R2.27 billion) required by World Rugby with an additional guarantee of \u00a340 million (R757 million).<\/p>\n
SA Rugby forecast another \u00a360 million (R1.13 billion) in profit for World Rugby from hospitality sales and savings on event costs because of the exchange rate.<\/p>\n
The tournament promised the largest ever attendance for a final with a record 87,436 spectators at the FNB Stadium as part of an availability of 2.9 million match tickets for the event \u2013 also a record.<\/p>\n
\u201cHosting Rugby World Cup 2023 will be a massive boost for our country as well as the game of rugby,\u201d said\u00a0SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux ahead of the announcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the fourth successive time we have bid for the tournament: this is not a \u2018nice-to-have\u2019 for rugby in South Africa \u2013 the opportunity to recapture just some of the spirit of 1995 has been an obsession for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
France got 24 votes to South Africa’s 15 in the final round of voting.<\/p>\n