Rhodesia,Rugby and the Afrikaner: ‘Working Together to Send this Country Ahead’

Abstract

Rugby played an influential role in assisting South Africa’s Afrikaners to migrate to the British colonies of Southern and Northern Rhodesia while maintaining strong transnational ties with their country of origin. The focus of this investigation is on the period immediately after the Second World War although it is necessary to locate events within wider social and political developments that shaped societies in the two Central African colonies. For the first half of the twentieth century the Southern Rhodesian government in particular pursued a policy of deliberately limiting the immigration of the Afrikaner, a white population group of Dutch, French or German descent. The British feared the growing strength of Afrikaner nationalism whilst the majority of Rhodesians did not wish to be absorbed by their powerful neighbour. There was nevertheless a shared passion for rugby which was clearly apparent in Rhodesia’s long-established affiliation to the South African parent body. This meant that Rhodesia not only played as a province of South Africa but the highest ambition of their players was to achieve Springbok selection. The linkages were welcomed on both sides with Afrikaans-speaking players strengthening Rhodesian rugby teams in the course of seeking their fortunes in the tobacco and copper industries.     

Rhodesia's ‘rebel and racist’ Olympic team: Athletic glory,national legitimacy and the clash of politics and sport

This article traces the history of the Olympic participation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, then the British colony of Southern Rhodesia, and then unilaterally independent settler-ruled Rhodesia after 1965, placing heavy emphasis on the racially integrated aspects of the sporting sphere. Rhodesia's status in the International Olympic Committee inevitably came under assault after 1965 owing to its white government and international sporting sanctions. The battles of the press, the high-level diplomatic manoeuvring, and finally the IOC debate first to exclude Rhodesia from Munich and then to permanently expel the Rhodesian NOC in 1975 are analysed in detail. As a charismatic organization, the IOC operated outside the world of rules and rational principles, devoted to certain values expressed in ‘Olympism’. Because of this commitment, and the resulting belief that politics had no place in sport, the IOC was insulated from the great changes taking place in the world at large. The newly independent world sought to make democratic equality a part of the Olympic vision, trumping the long-held charismatic principles of the IOC; the expulsion of Rhodesia was the culmination of this trend.     

‘There Were a Fine Manly Lot of Fellows’: Cricket,Rugby and Rhodesian Society during William Milton's Administration, 1896–1914

Recent research has uncovered details of William Milton's considerable influence on South African cricket during its early international experiences. Tracing Milton's progress north of the Limpopo is an extension of that work and opens another area that has received surprisingly little critical attention. This paper will explore the extent to which cricket and rugby were both shaped by and helped shape Rhodesian society during Milton's tenure as administrator. It will examine Rhodesia's early sporting ties as well as some of the key individuals and events involved in games that reflected broader social, economic and political processes in the unsettled years before the First World War.     

Revisiting (and Revising?) Sports Boycotts: From Rugby against South Africa to Soccer in Israel

For the first time in nearly 30 years, 2013 saw increasing public awareness of calls for a comprehensive boycott of and sanctions on a state based on questions of an ‘entrenched system of racial discrimination’. The call to boycott South African sport emerged in the 1950s as the apartheid state was developing and refining its comprehensive and systematic legal form amid growing international pressure for decolonisation. This is a different social and political context than the call 50 years later by Palestinian civil society for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. This paper draws on analyses of international anti-apartheid movements' campaigns against sporting contact with South Africa and the BDS call for the isolation of the Israeli state to propose a theory of sports boycotts. It looks at the anti-apartheid campaigns to consider ways in which the BDS campaign has an impact on existing historical understandings of cultural boycotts as a tactical and strategic campaign tool.     

‘Last Zulu Warrior Standing’: Cultural Legacies of Racial Stereotyping and Embodied Ethno-Branding in South Africa

This paper explores the legacies of white South African cricketer Lance ‘Zulu’ Klusener. His childhood immersion in ‘Shakan culture’ on a Natal farm was said to imbue him with warrior prowess on the field. In Klusener's newly democratic country even township veterans of the People's War against apartheid, who associated cricket with racial tyranny, followed his World Cup exploits. So too did his rural Zulu fans in KwaZulu–Natal chiefdoms. Klusener's ‘Zulu’ persona not only represented deeper cultural histories, but also pervasive colonial markers. In the post-apartheid era, Klusener's fame revealed a different minority at play. His sporting identity impressed the ‘rainbow nation’, especially the promoters of reconciliation selling the evocatively familiar with a new twist: the warrior inspiring unity, not with tribal spear, but with colonial bat. With international sanctions against South Africa lifted in 1994, boosters of cricket wanted to change negative perceptions of their racially exclusive sport. Klusener appealed to the historically oppressed at home and opened sources of global revenue formerly closed by a four-decade-old sport boycott. Indeed, his ‘warrior’ reputation was ripe for exploitation in a ‘neoliberal’ tourism-oriented economy called ‘Ethnicity Inc.’, the title of a book by John and Jean Comaroff on the ‘marketing [of] vernacular lifeways’ of ‘ethno-nations’.     

南非对不正当体育竞赛行为的法律规制

不正当竞争行为不仅出现在商业活动中,在体育竞赛中也有明显体现,可以视为一种不正当体育竞赛行为,如种族歧视、服用兴奋剂、比赛造假以及体育竞赛腐败等现象在南非竞技场上屡屡出现.对此,南非通过各种法律途径予以规制,包括完善国内立法、签订国际条约、成立专门机构等等,为营造公平合理的体育竞赛环境提供了法律保障.     

Long Balls in the Dying Moments: Exploring the Decline of South Africa's National Football League, 1970–1977

During the 1970s, a number of prominent British and Irish footballers – the likes of which included Gordon Banks, George Best, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst and Bobby Moore – played as ‘guest players’ on a short-term basis for various clubs in South Africa's National Football League (NFL), a ‘whites-only’ professional league that spanned the period 1959–1977. Coupled with this, NFL clubs from the outset also secured the services of additional foreign players of lesser standing on longer term contracts in an attempt to improve the standard of play. The strategy of importing high-profile ‘guests’ during the 1970s ultimately proved unsuccessful in sustaining the league as it disbanded after the 1977 season. Utilising archival documentation, contemporary media reports and existing football works, this essay aims to establish the reasons behind the NFL's demise. Two particular factors under consideration are the erosion of the league's entertainment value and the deteriorating economic conditions within South Africa at the time. These elements are juxtaposed with additional factors such as the rise in popularity of multiracial football, the resulting drain of sponsorship away from the white professional game, as well as political machinations within South Africa during this period.     

Pelé, racial discourse and the 1958 World Cup

The aim of this essay is to map out the racial discourses of the 1950s, particularly those pertinent to the 1958 Soccer World Cup, in order to better understand the main ideas about race, which were in vogue at the time when Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pelé) became (inter)nationally famous as a great sports star. The essay argues that Pelé’s statements regarding race and race relations in Brazil were inherently based on the discourses prevalent among academics and Brazil’s black activists during the 1950s. Pelé’s professional asceticism and his belief in individualism, cultivated during his youth in the city of Bauru, were further reinforced by the racial discourses of the 1950s. These views led him to believe that any discrimination he might encounter due to his colour and class could be overcome with a disciplined and professional attitude. Today, this sort of ascetic view of the world has been accused by certain segments of Brazil’s black movements as being insufficient to overcome the supposedly irresolvable inequalities that exist between Brazil’s black and white populations. Pelé, however, has not changed his position regarding anti-black discrimination, choosing to continue to emphasize professionalism and discipline as the two most formidable tools in the fight against racial discrimination and inequality.     

In pursuit of empowerment: Sensei Nellie Kleinsmidt, race and gender challenges in South Africa

This chapter traces the way in which Nellie Kleinsmidt, known as the grandmother of karate in Africa, has negotiated discriminatory practices and overcome race and gender-related struggles, including the struggle to free the female body, in pursuit of empowerment. It explores her expectations and the constraints and frustrations she experienced, as well as the many contributions she has made to women's karate in South Africa. Nellie Kleinsmidt's karate career, which began in 1965, coincided with the early developments of South African karate. As a woman of colour her life and karate career were significantly shaped by apartheid legislation. It divided the country into areas of occupancy and residency according to race and was designed to prevent contact between the people of the government defined race groups. Black karate-kas were prohibited by law from practising karate in white designated areas. Lack of facilities and qualified instructors in areas allocated to Kleinsmidt's race group meant that she received very little formal karate instruction between 1966 and 1973. Soon after, she met Johan Roux, a white male. He was to become her chief karate instructor and life-long companion. They defied the apartheid legislation and in 1978 set up home together. They organized defiance campaigns, resisting the pressures from government to close their dojo because of its non-racial policies. Freeing her body at the broader political level involved the abolition of the race categories and all other apartheid legislation which impacted on her life choices and experiences. Initially this struggle and that of freeing her body occurred simultaneously. In her ongoing struggle against gender discrimination in the sport, it was in karate that Nellie Kleinsmidt could strive for the personal empowerment she sought. She could however not translate this into freedom in South African society itself. The impact of apartheid legislation together with the imposition of a sports moratorium by the South African Council on Sports (SACOS), hindered the growth of Nellie Kleinsmidt's karate career, yet she managed to obtain her sixth Dan Black Belt in 1998. This was a remarkable achievement given the constraints she had to overcome. In karate, Kleinsmidt was often viewed as a female first. The problem of female access is exacerbated by the overwhelming number of male instructors perpetuating the notion that the martial arts are inherently male sports. Accessing the various levels of karate has involved claiming physical and symbolic space on the dojo floor as well as involvement in the decision-making arenas of karate. In 1992 with the unification of karate in South Africa, Sensei Nellie began to extend her involvement with the refereeing arena and jointly established a Women's Karate Forum in her province. She has subsequently become a South African national referee and has earned the status of continental judge with the Union of African Karate Federation (UFAK). Nellie Kleinsmidt is the first and only woman of colour to have been appointed to the Referee's Board of South Africa and the only woman of colour in Africa to have obtained a sixth Dan Black belt.     

‘Tours of Imperialism’: Cricket and Cultural Transfer in South Africa, 1880–1910

Abstract

Few can deny the significance of sport in today’s South Africa. The sporting structures upon which this is based were first introduced to the country by the British in the late nineteenth century. In line with policies of cultural imperialism, sports such as cricket were promoted at this time as part of a wider political agenda that encouraged the adoption of an ‘English’ way of life in the region. Sports tours, most notably cricket, were a fundamental part of this cultural transfer between the ‘Mother Country’ and her colonies in Southern Africa. To underpin the study of transnational linkages and transfer in African sports, this paper will offer an historical overview of how ‘British-styled’ sport arrived in South Africa and how the early cricket tours between England and South Africa were constructed to promote distinct political and cultural connections. This paper will explore the early development of cricket in South Africa and investigate its symbiotic link to British imperialism and colonialism via the first tours and sporting exchanges that took place. The origins of the game in South Africa will be examined as well as its development up to 1910 (the date of Union in South Africa) as the site of a constructed transnational 'brotherhood' between Britain and its most coveted African colonies.     

Crossing Boundaries and Changing Identities: Empowering South Asian Women through Sport and Physical Activities

The participation of women in sport is significant to socio-economic empowerment in any country. Evidence reveal that although South Asian female athletes are capable of winning medals in the Olympics, a very low percentage of the South Asian female population ever participate actively in sport. The status and circumstances to participate in sport are restricted for many female athletes in South Asia. This paper examined the main factors that influence women's sporting participation in South Asian countries. Data were analysed by using documentary analysis method. This paper analysed a combination of concepts addressing women and sport in South Asia in two ways. Firstly, it emphasises the issues and patterns of women's participation in sport in South Asian countries after the independence from the British Empire. Secondly, it highlights the benefits to South Asian societies of women's participation in sport, but argues why South Asian women are trivialised in sports participation. Results revealed the inequalities and discrimination that constrain women from participating in the South Asian sports sector as personal, social and cultural barriers. Possible solutions are provided to reduce these factors to encourage South Asian women's participation in sport. Success and the implications of South Asian governments’ interventions on women and sport are also discussed. Results of this study revealed the inequalities and discrimination that constrain women from participating in the South Asian sports sector is continuing.     

‘Africa's Tournament'? The Branding Legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

In 2010, South Africa became the first country on the African continent to host the FIFA World Cup. Crucially the hosting of such a prestigious tournament was seen as a chance to prove that this developing nation could host an event of this magnitude as efficiently as the developed economies who had hosted the previous editions of the event, such as Germany in 2006 and Korea and Japan in 2002. Significantly though, this flagship event was also promoted by FIFA as ‘Africa's Tournament' with South Africa encouraged to share the identity and success of 2010 with the entire African continent. Based on the findings from in-depth interviews conducted with event and destination stakeholders from national and regional South African Government departments, this article explores the 2010 tournament as a branding opportunity that was used to promote both the continent of Africa as well as the South African nation. Expanding upon previous studies in this area the challenges and successes of hosting the 2010 World Cup are examined as is the role of mega-events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup in generating a nation and continent-wide branding legacy. Stakeholders specialising in sport event management, tourism, operations and communications reflect on the branding and exposure for both Africa and South Africa achieved as a result of the event and the degree to which this was coordinated and co-created between various stakeholders. Insights are also given as to the degree to which the branding gains achieved during the event have been leveraged post-2010. As such, this article offers an original socio-historic perspective on existing studies examining the impact of the 2010 tournament.     

Remembering the rejection of Muhammad Ali: identity,civil rights and social memory

When Muhammad Ali died in June 2016, he was remembered by the media as a hero in the fight for racial equality. Tributes for the great boxer were meaningful in many respects, but they were also incomplete, sanitised and misleading. This paper aims to re-complicate our understanding of Ali's portrayals in the media by analysing newspaper discourse in the years immediately following his conversation to the Nation of Islam. Specifically, this investigation compares and contrasts the complex ways that black and white journalists used both his birth name (Cassius Clay) and his adopted name (Muhammad Ali) as a way of signalling their attitudes toward him. Close reading of newspaper articles published between March 1964 and September 1967 reveals that black journalists rejected Ali's adopted name and identity almost as comprehensively as their white colleagues. This aspect of Ali's legacy has been largely forgotten by the contemporary media, which calls us to consider the cultural construction of social memory, particularly when it revolves around sporting icons.     

Rhodesia and the Olympic Games: representations of masculinity,war and Empire, 1965–1980

White-settler-ruled Rhodesia faced isolation from international sporting competition after its unilateral declaration of independence in 1965, including from the Olympic Games. Sport reflected the qualities of white Rhodesian society, including its gendered and racialized norms. Rhodesia inherited its sporting ethic from Great Britain, and the British influence on Rhodesian sport remained indelible even as anti-British sentiment flared in the white community as Britain worked to exclude Rhodesia from international sport. This work highlights the irony that Rhodesia adhered to Imperial British social norms on the playing field while trying to assert an independent and anti-British national identity.     

The Media Impact of South Africa's Historical Hosting of Africa's First Mega-Event: Sport and Leisure Consumption Patterns

The 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa was the biggest mega-event ever to be hosted on the African continent. This historical event had several social, economic and developmental imperatives, including destination profiling and changing negative perceptions of South Africa, specifically, and the African continent more generally. This research undertakes a media analysis of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in selected key markets, namely the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. The study investigates the media impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on South Africa as the host nation and Africa's major tourism destination by undertaking a media analysis of the key source markets. Africa's first mega-event provides an ideal opportunity to examine how a host country (in this case South Africa) is profiled in relation to sport and leisure consumption patterns, including shifts in sentiment over time. Four time periods were identified, namely pre-, leading up to, during and post-2010. A qualitative analysis is undertaken, which includes content sourcing, content identification, semantic cluster analysis and the use of Leximancer, an analytical tool used to evaluate the content of textual documents, in this case primarily online newspaper articles. For each of the source markets identified, 400–600 articles were extracted. The findings show generally positive or favourable media coverage in relation to sport and leisure consumption patterns. However, a higher level of unfavourable media coverage was discernible during the pre- and lead-up periods, which may have influenced World Cup attendance figures and therefore leisure consumption. Specific tourist products (in particular Table Mountain and Robben Island) and the main host cities (Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban) had more mentions and stronger associations than South Africa generally. The positive imagery which prevailed during the event needs to be further emphasised in future sport events and the tourism and leisure marketing of South Africa.     

The Original Pan-American Games? The 1937 Dallas Pan-American Olympics

Abstract

In 1937, Dallas, Texas, hosted a sporting festival that drew teams from across the Americas to a ‘Pan American Olympics’. Organized under the umbrella of the Greater Texas and Pan-American Exposition, the games drew hundreds of athletes for track and field contests, soccer football matches, and a boxing tournament. Though historians generally consider the 1951 Buenos Aires Pan-American Games as the genesis of the Western Hemisphere’s biggest sporting carnival, the Dallas games certainly inspired even if they did not directly inaugurate the Pan-American Games movement. Directed by George Preston Marshall, the owner of a professional gridiron football franchise and an ardent leader of segregation in that sport, the Pan-American Olympics paradoxically produced an interracial set of contests that matched black, white, and Latino athletes against one another in the heart of the segregated US South. The Dallas Pan-American festival reveals the enigmatic visions of their architect, illumines the racial and national cleavages of the 1930s, and highlights the persistent dream of an Olympic-style event that would include all of the Americas.     

Opening a Window on Early Twentieth-Century School Sport in Cape Town Society

An attempt was made at recording structured sport in non-White schools in Cape Town, South Africa, prior to 1956. The study was introduced with a historical presentation of sport at mission schools. It was shown how these schools inherited a legacy of deprivation and neglect that impacted upon sport participation. Yet, champion sportspersons at these schools gained some recognition in a racist and hostile society. This was possible due to the efforts of a few Teachers' League of South Africa (TLSA) campaigners who saw sport development as part of their mission of uplifting children in their charge. The TLSA attempted organising athletic meetings from 1916 onwards. Teachers belonging to this organisation were instrumental in establishing the first mass-based school sport organisation in Cape Town in 1928, the Central School Sports Union (CSU). This organisation was the only avenue of meaningful sport participation for most of Cape Town's marginalised children. A study of the CSU enables historians to open a window not only on social and political complexities of school sport but also on the broader early twentieth-century Cape society.     

Changes in body mass,stature and BMI in South African elite U18 Rugby players from different racial groups from 2002–2012

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences between racial groups for body mass, stature and body mass index (BMI) in South African elite U18 rugby players and whether there were significant changes in these measurements between 2002 and 2012. Self-reported body mass and stature were obtained from U18 players (n = 4007) who attended the national tournament during this period. BMI was calculated for each player.White players were 9.8 kg heavier than black players, who were 2.3 kg heavier than coloured players (P < 0.0001). The body mass of all groups increased from 2002 to 2012 (P < 0.0001). White players were 7.0 cm taller than black players who were 0.5 cm taller than coloured players (P < 0.0001). Players’ stature measurements did not change significantly during the study period. The average BMI of white players was 0.9 kg·m^?2 greater than black players who were on average 0.7 kg·m^?2 greater than coloured players (P < 0.0001). The BMI of all groups changed similarly over the study period. The body mass, stature and BMI of elite under-18 rugby players in South Africa were significantly different between racial groups. This has implications for transforming the game to make it representative of the South African population.     

The Migration of African-Americans to the Canadian Football League During the 1950s: An Escape from Racism?

It is the argument of this paper that the literature on mid-century racial discrimination in sport is incomplete in that it ignores the experiences of a small, but relatively significant, group of African-American football players who actually chose to leave their own country – and correspondingly leave the racially-charged environment of mid-twentieth-century USA – to head north to play professional football in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Beginning in 1946, a steady flow of African-Americans began to migrate to the CFL which, at the time, was a legitimate competitor league to the NFL. This paper attempts to test a perception seemingly held by some that, by moving to Canada, African-American football players were able to escape the racial injustices they often suffered in the US. This view appears to have its roots in the notion that Canada is a ‘gentler’, more tolerant society, without the divisive socio-political history that characterizes much of the race relations in the US. This paper tests these notions using a variety of empirical approaches. The results indicate that, while African-Americans were better represented in the CFL relative to the NFL, African-Americans still faced some level of entry discrimination in the CFL. In particular, African-American players in the CFL outperformed their white counterparts on numerous performance dimensions, indicating the overall talent level in the CFL could have been further improved by employing an even greater number of African-Americans. Additionally, the paper finds that those CFL teams that employed the highest percentage of African-Americans were those teams that had the most on-field success. Finally, the paper analyses prices of player trading cards from that era, and finds that cards of African-Americans were undervalued, relative to white CFL players of equal talent.     

‘They are able to play football in South Africa’: Austria’s ‘little Wunderteam’ on tour in 1936

From the end of the nineteenth century South Africa had become a popular touring destination for British and colonial sports teams. Tours in the popular sport of cricket, football and rugby were very popular. These tours tested local opposition against foreign competition, brought in revenue to local and national sports associations and contributed to the development of a white South African identity. Austrian football teams were extensive travellers and popular attractions around the world. Prior to the Second World War Austrian football was highly regarded and was able to compete and hold its own against English and Scottish clubs and representative teams. This article considers an unusual tour by a combined Viennese football team to South Africa in 1936. We consider the preparations for the tour, the different playing styles and the way in which the visitors were received around the country. At the broader political level, the tour was important as leading South African politicians and Austrian diplomats attended matches and functions while on tour. This can be understood in the context of both countries attempting to flex their political identity and muscle in light of more dominant neighbours and colonial masters.