Johannesburg - Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced the launch of its new franchise-based '#T20 Global League'.

The tournament will debut in the last quarter of 2017, with 8 franchises expected to do battle over December, and is expected to be South Africa's answer to major T20 tournaments currently on the international circuit like the IPL and Big Bash League.

A tender was issued worldwide on Saturday in an attempt to get investors to purchase the franchises.

The deadline for what CSA has called ‘Expressions of Interest’ is at 17:00 Central African Time (GMT+2) on Friday, March 3. It seems that any potential investors who are interested in purchasing a franchise will have to make their move by then.

According to a CSA statement, the process of applying to own and operate a team through a franchise licensing agreement will include the following key stages in the selection process:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest

2. Submission of formal bids

3. Evaluation of qualifying bids received

4. Announcement of the successful team owners

The announcement of the global tender for the new #T20 Global League comes after CSA President, Chris Nenzani, and Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, informed the ICC and Member nations attending the ICC meetings in Dubai this week.

"Our vision is to drive the creation of a new #T20 destination league in South Africa that would energise the sport of cricket in South Africa by creating a global platform for the best-in-class to perform and showcase their talent to a global audience," Nenzani said.

"We have received a very favourable response to our plans from the ICC and Member Boards and look to their support in our endeavour. We now look forward to another exciting chapter in the evolution of South African cricket and to the whole game benefitting from our new #T20 Global League.

"Today is a landmark day for Cricket South Africa. Early feedback from the marketplace suggests that there is tremendous interest in our Global Destination League from around the globe," said Lorgat.

"We have taken our time and worked hard to reach the point where we are now ready to play in the global T20 arena. This new T20 Global Destination League offers great opportunities for investment in South Africa and South African cricket, and we are excited by the number of local and international superstars that will feature in the league. We are also confident that the window we have chosen will make it possible for franchises to attract top class players to South Africa."