Defensible Rebuild · Reference Year 2022

Sport Economy Analytics

The core defensible account values South Africa's sport economy at R133.6 billion across 25 traceable lines, with a R74.5 billion confidence-weighted figure. Multipliers are excluded — they require MR-IOT modelling and are never assumed.

Key Indicators

Core defensible Sport Satellite Account

Original: R155.1 billion
Core Defensible GVAR133.6 billion2.3% of GDP
Confidence-Weighted GVAR74.5 billion44% quality discount applied
Employment (FTE)635 24639.0% characteristic
Sensitivity BandR87.9bn – R179.3bnLow to high estimate
Characteristic GVAR52.1 billion39.0% of core
Connected GVAR81.5 billion61.0% of core
Traceable Lines25Each with SIC7 + sport share + confidence
Reconciliation: R155.1bn to R133.6bn

How the original headline reconciles to the core defensible account

Original NSSA headlineR155.1bn
Watch Register (7 lines demoted)R8.3bn
Eliminated Register (6 lines removed)R5.4bn
Share corrections (2 lines halved)R7.8bn
Core defensible GVAR133.6bn
C10 · Bicycle retail70%35%

Most bicycle-kilometres in SA are commuting, not sport.

C22 · Sports betting60%30%

The 60% conflated gambling market share with value-added share. Casino, LPMs, bingo and lottery dominate gambling GVA.

Sport GVA by Sector (R billions)

Characteristic Connected

GVA by Confidence Tier

Raw GVA vs evidence-weighted GVA (R billions)

Medium: 8 lines · weight 0.7Low: 17 lines · weight 0.4
Characteristic vs Connected

39.0% characteristic · 61.0% connected

Characteristic

R52.1 billion

Facilities, clubs, athletes, education

Connected

R81.5 billion

Retail, media, betting, tourism, fitness

Sport GVA as % of GDP

South Africa's 2.3% sits within the international direct range

The credibility test: a defensible direct estimate should land near peers. SA's 2.3% is comfortably within the UK (2.6%), Germany (2.2%) and EU (2.0%) direct range.

Core Account — 25 lines

Each line traces to a SIC7 code, a sport share and a confidence tier

Full sector view
LineSIC7ShareSport GVAWeightedFTEConfidence
Sport Goods & Retail · R33.1 billion
C08 Sport goods retail (dedicated shops)47640100%R18.00BR12.60B90 000Medium
C09 Sport footwear retail4772025%R3.00BR1.20B15 000Low
C10 Bicycle & e-bike retail — sport component4764035%R1.23BR0.49B6 125Low
C11 Wholesale of sport goods4649060%R4.80BR1.92B13 714Low
C12 Sport goods manufacturing32300100%R2.50BR1.75B8 333Medium
C15 Sport clothing manufacture1419015%R2.70BR1.08B18 000Low
C16 Sport footwear manufacture1520020%R0.90BR0.36B5 000Low
Sport Education · R22.1 billion
E25 Sport & recreation education (non-tertiary)8541020%R9.00BR3.60B40 909Low
E26 Higher education — sport scienceDHET / HEMIS5%R4.25BR1.70B12 143Low
E27 Secondary education — PE componentDBE / EMIS8%R8.80BR3.52B31 429Low
Fitness & Health · R17.6 billion
C26 Sport medicine & physiotherapy862103%R2.55BR1.02B5 100Low
C27 Fitness facilities (gyms, health clubs)93040100%R15.00BR10.50B100 000Medium
Sport Media & Betting · R15.2 billion
C19 Sport TV broadcasting6020025%R8.00BR5.60B10 000Medium
C21 Sport journalism & publishing581105%R0.60BR0.24B1 500Low
C22 Sports betting (sport share of gambling)9200030%R6.60BR2.64B18 857Low
Sport Facilities · R12.0 billion
E21 Operation of sports facilities93110100%R12.00BR8.40B66 667Medium
Sport Clubs · R8.5 billion
E22 Activities of sports clubs93120100%R8.50BR5.95B70 833Medium
Other Sporting Activities · R9.5 billion
E23 Other sporting activities NEC9319085%R5.53BR2.21B27 625Low
E24 Professional sportspersons, coaches & officials93190100%R4.00BR1.60B16 000Low
Government & Associations · R6.3 billion
C38 Sport associations & federations94120100%R3.50BR2.45B17 500Medium
C39 Government sport administration841101%R2.80BR1.96B7 000Medium
Sport Tourism · R3.7 billion
C23 Sport tourism — hotels & lodging551018%R2.24BR0.90B12 444Low
C24 Sport camps & outdoor accommodation5520030%R1.50BR0.60B10 000Low
Infrastructure & Construction · R3.6 billion
C29 Sport facility construction412003%R3.60BR1.44B14 400Low
Equestrian & Racing · R2.0 billion
C40 Equestrian & horse racing (sport component)9319080%R2.00BR0.80B16 667Low
Core defensible totalR133.6BR74.5B635 246
Reading these numbers

The core defensible GVA (R133.6 billion) is the sum of 25 Vilnius-eligible lines. The confidence-weighted GVA (R74.5 billion) applies an evidence-quality weight to each line, so a reader can see how much of the headline rests on strong versus prudent evidence.

Indirect and induced effects (multipliers) are deliberately excluded. They require multi-region input-output modelling and are reported separately rather than assumed as a flat constant.