Caroline Raubenheimer

21 November 2021
History and Sociology of Sport
 
Looking at the sports in South Africa, one can see that National Sports Teams start
at the very beginning, like school sports. The chosen sports in this essay are Boxing
and Soccer. Boxing is not recognised as one of the top 3 sports but Soccer is. The
essay discusses both sports, how transformation affects them, and the effects of
these changes on those sports. To understand the effect of transformation on
national plans for sports, we must consider the diversity and equity models in both
sports.

Professional boxing began in South Africa in the second half of the 19th century
when diamonds and goldfields. These South African mining goods brought in people
worldwide. 35 Boxers from South Africa won 49 world titles between 1927 and 2001.
A record number of South Africans won world championships in the 1990s. South
Africa brought home, six world titles won in 1995, five in 1996, and six in 1997. By
1998, there were eight world champions, and by 1999, there were just five.
Vic Toweel, who won the bantamweight title in 1950, was South Africa's lone world
champion when there was only one global body.
Multiple titleholders have, however, come from South Africa.
Brian Mitchell, a lightweight junior who won the World Boxing Association title in
1986 and the International Boxing Federation title in 1991, was among these
winners.

Brian Mitchell is considered one of the best South African boxers of his generation.
He won the World Boxing Association (WBA) junior lightweight championship in
1986 and held it for a world record 12 times until retiring in 1991. As South Africa
grew increasingly isolated globally. Result of the apartheid policies, Mitchell
transformed into a genuine "road warrior," defending his title almost entirely
overseas. He concluded his career with 46 victories, 1 defeat, and 2 ties. His 12
successful junior lightweight title defences are still the junior lightweight division
record.

 In boxing, anyone can excel regardless of race, linguistic ability, religion, social
standing, economic status, or other factors. Boxing was outlawed in the Transvaal
and the rest of South Africa from immediately before the Anglo-Boer War until a few
years after fighting ended. Before 1923 boxing was illegal, but Ludwig Japhet, a
Johannesburg lawyer with a passion for the sport, began formulating a plan to
legalize boxing in 1918, just after World War I ended. With the help of friends, he
developed a bill and encouraged George McAllister, the Member of Parliament for
Germiston, to present it in Parliament in 1923. At the end of the first day, responding
to the comments of the proposed bill. That night a young girl was assaulted, and her
chaperone was beaten.

The Bantu Men's Social Centre (BMSC), placed at the base of Eloff Street in
Johannesburg, was founded in 1924 to provide a cultural centre for the city's black
males to participate in academic, cultural, and sports activities. Tiny Dean, Willie
Smith, Roger Martin, and Peter Murrell were some members of the officials. South
African Broadcasting Corporation recorded the program and transmitted it at 9.45
a.m. the following day on the radio. The battle took place in Johannesburg on 1
December 1973. This battle meant that a breakthrough had accomplished the
elimination of all racial prejudice in South African professional boxing.

Premier John Vorster changed the Boxing and Wrestling Control Act of 1954 in
November 1973, much as President Paul Kruger of the Transvaal Republic had done
to assure the Bendoff-Couper fighting match would take place. The rematch with
Bob Foster will go down in South African sports history as a watershed moment. A
black man and white man met in the ring before a racially diverse crowd of 37 474
people for the first time since 1923 of the legalization of professional boxing. Pierre
Fourie's battle with Bob Foster in Johannesburg was a trial run for integrated sport.

The clock would have been rolled back years if the racial upheavals projected at the
time had occurred. Instead, the expertise and business-like approach of the two
participants set solid foundations for racially diverse boxing in front of a mixed-race
audience. Boxing, soccer, rugby, and track & field were among the sports that
helped abolish apartheid." Mixed fights in South Africans were legalized in 1977, but
it wasn't until two years later that the last remnants of the colour barrier vanished.
Supreme titles along with the white and black system were abolished.

On the 27th of November 1976, the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg hosted the first
two multiracial South African title fights, with Gerrie Coetzee and Elijah 'Tap Tap'
Makhathini emerging as the new indisputable champions. Jan Kies, the white
middleweight champion, was stopped in three rounds by Makhahthini, while James
Mathato, the black heavyweight champion, was knocked out in the 7th round by
Coetzee. From that point on, boxing has been free of institutional racial prejudice,
not just at the level of competiting, but rather at the level of control. The 1980 WBA
heavyweight title fight in Pretoria between John Tate and Gerrie Coetzee had further
ramifications.

Apartheid regime Afrikaner leaders never supported soccer during the apartheid era.
They adored cricket and rugby and generously supported those sports.
They considered soccer as a game for 'Africans'. At first, they disregarded the sport;
later, they began to prohibit some games. In 1963, authorities sealed the entrance to
Natalspruit Sports Ground in Johannesburg and posted a notice announcing the
cancellation of the day's events. 15 000 fans climbed the gates, each bringing an
extra set of goalposts to fill the positions of those that had been removed. The
matches went on as planned.

Later, the government would try a new tactic, staging an annual match between
black and white players. The proposal, however, failed, emphasizing the inequitable
and racist characteristics of the country's political structure. The games did, however,
contribute to damaging the apartheid state in critical ways. In 1976, the government
permitted a mixed-race team to compete a visiting Argentine squad in
Johannesburg. Though the spectators were still segregate
d, black and white South Africans were positioned together on the pitch. The
hosting team won 5-0. When they won against Argentina, the teammates, black and
white, did what teammates have always done. They exchanged warm embraces and
handshakes.
Despite South Africa's progress, more work remains has to be done before soccer
can be regarded as a sport that bridges the country's vexing racial divide. There is
only one white player on the national team of Bafana Bafana. The Cape Town
stadium is constructed in the white part of town. The World Cup stands are most
certainly a reflection of racial diversity, as fans flock from all over the country to
watch the game, yet most matches in South Africa's local leagues are still black-only
affairs.

Events like the 2010 World Cup on home soil meant that the economy would benefit.
The economy of South Africa benefits from events like these, which attracts tourists
and fans from around the globe. The main concern is that, although the government
paid a lot of money to host such an event, the national team appeared to have done
very little preparation. 'When it comes to the national team, we've just gone
completely backwards,' said Benni McCarthy. It is regrettable when the South African
team falls short of international expectations.

It has been a long-standing policy of the South African government to eliminate

inequality in sport on a national level. In other words, initiatives like quotas have
been introduced in untransformed national teams. South African sport lacks
transformation. School sport is an example. 'The schools' sports system remains a
challenge. It is common cause that when the school's sports system is dysfunctional,
young talent cannot be nurtured properly,' Happy Ntshingila, chairperson of the
(EPG) Transformation in Sport, said in the report. 

There is an underrepresentation of blacks and women in all facets of sport in South

Africa, according to the report. In addition, less than 10% of the 25 000 schools in
the country participate in sports. 'For South Africa to remain competitive in the global
sporting arena, we need to champion the transformation agenda. This ongoing
exclusion of people from opportunities for developing their skills and talents to reach
their full potential will have unpleasant repercussions for our society at large,' said
Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa.

In addition to apartheid's spatial analysis and its absence of sufficient sporting

facilities in those years, the lack of access has long been blamed on apartheid's
spatial analysis. Schools in poor communities are still plagued by this condition that
leads to inadequate participation in school athletics. Therefore, disagreeing with the
statement that was given that states 'The quota system has assisted with solid
transformations in sport within South Africa.'

In conclusion, we see that South Africa has yet to transform their sports. For South
Africa to reach international standards of their sports, we have to transform the
school sports before we look at our national sports. 'Transformation aims to increase
opportunities for the previously disadvantaged for human capital to have an equal
opportunity at being nurtured, to prosper and grow and attain a better quality of life.'
While I agree with this statement, I do not agree that South African sport is there yet.
Reference List
1. Sahistory.org.za. 2011. Football in South Africa Timeline 1862-2012 | South
African History Online. [online] Available at:
<https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/football-south-africa-timeline-1862-2012>
[Accessed 17 November 2021].

2. Gleeson, M., 2020. Soccer: A decade on, South Africa insists World Cup
worth investment. [online] U.S. Available at:
<https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-world-zaf-idUKKBN23G19R>
[Accessed 17 November 2021].

3. Griffin, N., 2020. How Soccer Defeated Apartheid. [online] Foreign Policy.

Available at: <https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/06/07/how-soccer-defeated-
apartheid/> [Accessed 17 November 2021].

4. Boxing SA. 2017. Boxing SA. [online] Available at:

<https://www.boxingsa.co.za/> [Accessed 17 November 2021].

5. Oates, T., 2018. History of South African Sport: II. Boxing. [online] Bleacher
Report. Available at: <https://bleacherreport.com/articles/66049-history-of-
south-african-sport-ii-boxing> [Accessed 17 November 2021].

6. Supersport.com. 2020. The story of boxing’s transformation in South Africa.

[online] Available at:
<https://supersport.com/general/news/200423_The_story_of_boxings_transfo
rmation_in_South_Africa> [Accessed 17 November 2021].

7. Sibembe, Y., 2020. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: South African sport: Long walk

to transformation. [online] Daily Maverick. Available at:
<https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-06-10-south-african-sport-long-
walk-to-transformation/> [Accessed 17 November 2021].

8. Solidariteit.co.za. 2017. [online] Available at: <https://solidariteit.co.za/wp-

content/uploads/2017/07/Transformation-in-sport-SA-eng.pdf> [Accessed 17
November 2021].