Benefit (sports)

A benefit is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question. However hosting one of these matches is a risk for the player in question as he/she is responsible for paying any relevant receipts and collects any excess income from the match, therefore income from such matches is more often than not reliant on attendance.[1]

Sometimes, the "beneficiary" can opt to give part or all of the money to charity. An example of this is Paul Collingwood's 2007 benefit with Durham County Cricket Club. This may also occur when sportsmen unite for a cause, for example the Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer "Match for Africa" (2010) where more than $2.6 million was raised for the Roger Federer Foundation, enabling children living in poverty to realise their potential.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ Sadiford & Vamplew, Keith A.P. & Wray (1999). "County cricketers' benefits and testimonials, 1946–85". The International Journal of the History of Sport. 16: 87–116. doi:10.1080/09523369908714056.
  2. ^ "Match for Africa 2". 2014.
  3. ^ "Roger Federer Foundation". 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  4. ^ "Nadal, Federer Unite For Children In Madrid". ATP World Tour. 2010.