The Role of Sports Boycotts against Apartheid South Africa
Whilst studying sports management, I did an assignment on the subject, sports sociology. The question was, “To what extend do you think that the sports boycott of South Africa during the latter years of apartheid was justified, and was it effective in the collapse of apartheid of South African sports?” I thought that I would use extracts of my research and put together an article as this is still relevant today in order to completely understand the process of change in our sport today and why it is incredibly important that sports in South Africa gets transformed.
The word transformation is not a curse word. The definition of transformation simply means: a marked change in form, nature, or appearance. This means that things can’t be done the same as it has been operating before. In order for us to understand why transformation/change is absolutely necessary one need to understand how things have been operation during apartheid and to a certain extend why we are still struggling as a country to shake off the residue of apartheid in a 20 year old democracy. The apartheid government of the time had imposed laws to legislate segregation in sports meaning that sports was practices amongst own races and non-white and white sporting bodies had their own governing bodies. There was also inequalities in the way the apartheid government have allocated finances and resources between non-white and white schools. As a result, many countries have banned participation for their teams in different sports codes against South African opposition.
In Track and Field Athletics, a motion to suspend South Africa from the IAAF was defeated in 1966 but was passed in 1970. As a result, Zola Budd’s time in the 5000m for women was not ratified as a world record as it was outside the auspices of the IAAF.
Cricket in South Africa has also been organised along racial lines from as early as the 1890’s with coloured cricketer, Krom Hendricks excluded from provincial and international selection. The cricketing boycott was prompted by the reaction of the South African authorities by the selection of Basil D’ Oliviera, a coloured cricketer from Cape Town, by the England national cricket team in 1968. In 1970 the South African tour of England was called off and was replaced by the ‘Rest of the World’ tour featuring several South African players. The International Cricket Council (ICC) imposed a moratorium on tours in 1979. There were several private tours in the 1979’s and “rebel” tours in the 1980’s. Participators of the latter was banned by their Federations upon returning.
In the 1979 Golf World Cup, the Greek government banned South Africa in Athens. South Africa competed in the 1980 world cup in Caracas. The prospect of them reappearing in 1981 in Waterville in Ireland, caused it to be cancelled. South Africa did not reappear until the post-apartheid era in 1992.
In Motorsport South African, Jody Scheckter, was the 1979 Formula One champion. The South African Gran Prix and the South African Motorcycle Gran Prix was held for the last time in 1985 until the end of apartheid. Various teams boycotted the 1985 race as part of pressure from their own governments in the mounting pressure against apartheid.
In Rugby, South Africa stayed part of the International Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era. Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was established in 1969 in New Zealand to oppose continued tours to and from South Africa. Apartheid South Africa’s last foreign tour was held in New Zealand in 1981. This tour was highly controversial due to the difference of opinions. South Africa was restricted from participation in the first two Rugby World cups in 1987 and 1991. I do believe that not enough was being done by the International Rugby Board to ensure that sufficient pressure was exercised on the South African Rugby Board (SARB) to prevent any international matches and tours from taking place. Perhaps a more drastic step should have been taken to ban South Africa from the IRB. The result was that South African Rugby build a brand known as the Springboks that only whites at the time could associate them with. This have seen the vast non-white rugby community excluded from a springbok legacy that is still being embraced today. This is a legacy to which the non-white rugby fraternity have no inheritance to whatsoever. They do not share the pride, history, records and caps as they have been isolated in participating in that culture. In 1973 one of the main anti-apartheid organizations, the South African Counsel on Sports (SACOS), came into existence that was at the forefront of leading protests against apartheid. Their slogan was, ‘No normal sport in an Abnormal Society’. In 1980, the United Nations began compiling a "Register of Sports Contacts with South Africa". This was a list of sportspeople and official who had participated in events within South Africa. It was compiled mainly from reports in South African newspapers. Being listed did not itself result in any punishment, but was regarded as a moral pressure on athletes. Some sports bodies would discipline athletes based on the register. Athletes could have their names deleted from the register by giving a written undertaking not to return to apartheid South Africa to compete. The register is regarded as having been an effective instrument. Though contacts were restricted after the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, there were controversial tours in 1980 by the British Lions and by France, in 1981 by Ireland, and in 1984 by England. In 1986, though a Lions tour was cancelled, South Africans played in all-star matches in Cardiff and in London marking the IRB centenary.
South African Football was suspended from FIFA in 1963. The South African Football Association (SAFA) proposed entering an all-white team in the 1966 World Cup and an all-black team in the 1970 World Cup. This proposal was rejected.
The South African Table Tennis Board (SATTB), a body found in contravention of the white South African Table Tennis Board was replaced for by the latter by the International Table Tennis Federation. While the SATTB was able to compete in World Championships held in Stockholm in 1957, team members were immediately refused passports by the South African apartheid government. It stated that no black could compete internationally except through the white sports body.
In Tennis, the South African Davis cup team was ejected from the 1970 Davis Cup due to the campaigning of Arthur Ashe. They were reinstated in 1973 and won the Davis Cup in 1974 after India refused to travel to South Africa for the final. South Africa were subsequently barred from the team competition but South Africa players competed in the pro-tours. Both Johan Kriek and Kevin Curren reached Grand Slam finals, though both later became American citizens. They are just two of many South African athletes who opted to compete under the flag of other countries during the Apartheid era.
Events of protest against racial and segregated South African sports all contributed immensely in seeing the end of apartheid in sports in South Africa. The sports fraternity throughout the entire world applied unwavering pressure and the government at the time realised slowly they would have to lift the segregation of sports. The European Community announced its member governments ending the boycotts in 1991. Also India, who strongly opposed South Africa’s apartheid policies and was at the forefront in isolating the country internationally at all levels, ended the boycott in 1991 by inviting the South African cricket team for an ODI series in 1992. In 1995, South Africa was entrusted to host the Rugby World Cup Finals. This was also participation in their first Rugby World Cup after their restriction out of the first two tournaments. South Africa won the tournament and this was a major platform to announce their return to the international sports scene. In 1996, the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) followed and South Africa also won this tournament. The world was paying attention as a new day has dawned for South Africa.
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