CSA apologises for 'confusion' around New Year's Test tickets availability
The statement comes in after CSA faced backlash on social media over making just 13% of tickets for the Newlands Test available to the general public
Cricket South Africa [CSA] has apologised "for the confusion" caused by its lack of communication around ticket availability for the New Year's Test against England in January 2027, which left many unable to secure seats.
As ESPNcricinfo revealed on Wednesday, less than 1600 tickets per day were put on sale for the match on Monday, which sold out within minutes as fans were unaware of the percentage of tickets reserved for travel packages and hospitality, service and stakeholder allocations.
More than half of the 17,544 seats, which are classed as general access capacity at Newlands, will be taken up by fans who bought deals through local or international tour agencies (39%) and by hospitality and complimentary tickets (21%). A further 19% of tickets will be given away to CSA and Western Province Cricket Association sponsors, to the home and away teams' travelling contingents and other stakeholders. That leaves only 13% of tickets available to the general public and of that, 9% was put on sale on Monday morning.RelatedCSA squeeze out home fans with ticket sales for New Year's Test
CSA has confirmed that the remaining 4%, as well as any unused tickets from any of the reserved categories, will be put on sale in the days leading up to the match. That could include seats near the sight-screens once the pitch allocation requirements have been confirmed by match officials. They will also sell a new hospitality experience if tickets from the packages they released to tour companies are not sold.
Importantly, the organisation admitted in a statement on Thursday afternoon that it "did not provide the clarity supporters expected" when it first put tickets on sale by not outlining this before.
The statement does not mean any additional tickets will be made available and CSA also warned against buying resale tickets from resale outlets. Many tickets have already gone on sale at third-party websites with huge markups. While tickets in South Africa typically cost between R400 and R250 (US$25 and US$15), ESPNcricinfo has seen some for sale for almost ten times the price, R3500 or US$211, on unauthorised platforms.
Purchasing such a ticket could result in the holder not being allowed into the venue. "CSA maintains a strict prohibition on ticket scalping and unauthorised resale. Fans are urged not to buy tickets from unauthorised resellers to avoid being denied entry into the stadium," a statement said.
This is the first summer in which CSA has partnered with a travel company - in this case, Tourvest - to sell packages which include hotels, transfers and some meals in an all-inclusive package. They allocated 27% of the total tickets available to local tour companies (though their clientele may be foreign) and 12% to international ones, such as the Barmy Army. That may mean that the majority of the stadium is occupied by visiting fans and after a massive backlash on social media on Wednesday, CSA is doing what it can to win the locals back.
"We remain committed to ensuring that ticket access is managed fairly, transparently and in a way that balances supporter demand with the operational requirements of hosting a major international sporting event," Pholetsi Moseki, CSA CEO, said. "We equally value the loyal support fans have shown to the Proteas Men as the World Test Champions since their historic victory in June 2025, which all lies at the heart of the game."
They have promised to issue timeous communication when the next batch of tickets goes on sale. They will be priced at a slightly higher than normal rate of between R420 (US$25.50) and R500 (US$30).