The Campaign against Sport in South Africa

Abstract

Apartheid South Africa has long been the pariah of international sport. South Africans have not competed in the Olympic Games since i960, and they lost the opportunity to compete in the Commonwealth Games in 1961. The governing bodies of these events the International Olympic Committee (10c) and the Commonwealth Games Federation (cgf) have effectively barred South Africans from other major competitions in the sports under their jurisdiction and actively discourage other contacts. Many of the international federations in the Olympic sports have expelled South Africa from membership altogether and penalize those who attempt to further contacts (see table 1). The ioc and the cgf have also contributed significantly to the cessation of contacts in sports beyond their jurisdiction, notably cricket and rugby, white South Africa's favourites. There has not been a major cricket tour of South Africa since 1970, a rugby tour since 1985. Governments have extended and reinforced these prohibitions. Many bar entry to South African athletes and officials and require their own athletes and sports associations to boycott all sporting contact with South Africa as a condition of public support. Under the United Nations Convention Against Apartheid in Sports, twenty-seven countries have also agreed to bar entry to athletes from other countries who have played in South Africa.1