Can what happened to the WCG happen in SA?

So the WCG has closed its doors for 2014.

According to the MSSA's facebook page, Mr Brad Lee of the WCG claims that the ECG will not be held in 2014 because, “This decision was made by the WCG committee after considering the current global trend as well as the business environment.”

Who actually knows what that means?

It could mean almost anything from financial collapse, to just a simple lack of interest.

Could what happened to the WCG happen to the DGL or to the MSSA?

Well, I thought about it, and these are my conclusions:

DGL.

When looking at the WCG model, it is quickly apparent that the model was fundamentally flawed. The WCG for many years depended entirely on the good graces of its benefactor – SAMSUNG. As far as I am lead to believe even the the teams that attended from the various countries were sponsored by the local SAMSUNG office.

So, in other words, the WCG then appears to be part of a marketing project of a major corporation.

There is nothing wrong with that, but as soon as there is a downturn in the economy, and budgets are invariably cut, then the whole affair tends to sour.

And that is the similarity with the DGL.

The DGL is part of a marketing project by TELKOM.

There is no membership, no fees and no sustainability should TELKOM decide to not carry on with promoting gaming.

MSSA:

The MSSA runs on a totally different model.

It runs on the same model as every sporting code. Many of the sporting codes that use this model have existed in this form for over 100 years.

Instead of having paid employees it runs on the buy-in of members who volunteer to run the body.

Because of its sporting model, it also has access to members fees, sponsorships and government funding.

As a result it is able to ride out any economic downturn as it has more income streams at its disposal and is not primarily dependant upon only one benefactor.

In conclusion:

What has happened to the WCG can happen to any organisation.

It is sad when it happens, but it does!

However, in my opinion, it is more likely to happen to the DGL than to the MSSA.