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. Sometimes, the "beneficiary" can opt to give part or all of the money to charity. An example of this is

Paul Collingwood Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club and was the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 winn ...

's 2007 benefit with

Durham County Cricket Club Durham County Cricket Club (rebranded as Durham Cricket in February 2019) is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Durham. Founded in 1882, Du ...

. This may also occur when sportsmen unite for a cause, for example the

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis ...

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...

Match for Africa The Match for Africa series is a recurring set of tennis exhibition matches. They are organized by Swiss player Roger Federer to raise money for the Roger Federer Foundation. In the exhibition, Federer competes in a singles match against another ...

" (2010) where more than $2.6 million was raised for the

Roger Federer Foundation Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...

, enabling children living in poverty to realise their potential.

History

Benefit matches originated in English county cricket in a time period where playing sport, in particular cricket, for a living didn't offer as big of an income as it does in modern society (2015), holding a benefit at a player's 10 year service mark or retirement mark was considered a form of retirement/insurance policy. Benefit matches are confused with

Testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

es, it's important to note that this is a direct gift from the club where income is guaranteed unlike in a benefit where income is often dependent on attendance. Similar events were organised in Baseball in the 1860s, these events often occurred at season end involving the stars of the sport to acknowledge a significant member of the sport. However a rule established by the NABBP in 1859 prohibited any player compensation, the basis of this rule was to maintain fair game in competition and avoid professional vs. amateur situations arising.

Significant matches

Cricket

*1933,

Don Blackie Donald Dearness Blackie (5 April 1882 – 18 April 1955) was an Australian Test cricketer who played three Tests as an off-spinner in the summer of 1928–29. At 46 years 253 days of age at the time of his Test debut, Blackie remains the oldest ...

and

Bert Ironmonger Herbert Ironmonger (7 April 1882 – 31 May 1971) was an Australian cricketer. He played Test cricket from 1928 to 1933, playing his last Test at the age of 50. He is the second-oldest Test cricketer. Life and career Before World War I Ironmo ...

*1934, T. J. E. Andrews,

Herbie Collins Herbert Leslie Collins (21 January 1888 – 28 May 1959) was an Australian cricketer who played 19 Test matches between 1921 and 1926. An all-rounder, he captained the Australian team in eleven Tests, winning five, losing two with another fo ...

, and Charles Kelleway *1948, Stan Squires benefit match

Baseball

*1861, Creighton & Pierce *1911, Addie Joss Benefit Game

References

Sports terminology {{Sports-stub

History

Significant matches

Cricket

Baseball

See also

References