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South African Culture: South African Sports

Sport In South Africa

While the eyes of the globe will turn to South Africa in 2010 for the first football World Cup held on African soil, the continent's southernmost nation already possesses a long and proud sporting history.

A vast and sun-kissed expanse, South Africa is not surprisingly a fiercely proud sporting nation. Unfortunately that pride rarely extends to Bafana Bafana - South Africa's perennially struggling national football team - but with some of the top-rated rugby and cricket teams in the world, sport plays a significant role in South African affairs.

The Apartheid era from 1948 until its official dissolution in 1994 meant an extended period of isolation for South African sporting teams, although various 'rebel tours' took place during that time.

Since the early 1990's a unified South Africa has once again competed in a variety of international sporting events, including the Commonwealth Games and Olympics.

Football in South Africa

The sport of choice for the majority of South Africa's Black population, football is the country's most popular participation sport and has a history stretching back to its first organised league in 1882.

The first professional league kicked off in 1959 but was soon disbanded, and today's Premier Soccer League owes its existence to a competition founded in 1971.

Orlando Pirates were the first champions of what was then called the National Professional Soccer League, and today the Pirates are one of the most popular clubs in Africa, with their derby against Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs the most popular in South African football.

Football's popularity peaked in 1996 when a newly reunified Bafana Bafana lifted the African Nations Cup for the first and only time, while hopes of a decent showing by the national team at the 2010 World Cup were raised when Brazilian coach Joel Santana lead South Africa to a semi-final finish at the 2009 Confederation's Cup.

Rugby Union in South Africa

One of South Africa's most popular sports - particularly amongst Afrikaners - the national team are referred to as the Springboks and are the reigning world champions after lifting the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Like football, Rugby has its roots in the British colonists who introduced the sport to in the late 1800's. It rapidly gained popularity, although the Apartheid era ultimately forced the Springboks into isolation, with the South Africans permanently exiled from international competition in 1981.

They returned to the fold in 1992 and were quick to reassert their authority - winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup on home soil, as the iconic image of a beaming Nelson Mandela presenting the trophy to Afrikaner captain Francois Pienaar became an symbol of reconciliation.

Five South African teams play in the three-country Super 14 competition - contested by provincial teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia - while the domestic Currie Cup is South Africa's premier club Rugby competition.

Cricket in South Africa

Another of South Africa's most popular sports, international cricket has been played in the country since England's first tour in 1888.

Renowned for their ferocious tenacity and fierce will to win, the South African cricket team are known as the Proteas and these days field a cosmopolitan mix - due in part to a controversial quota system designed to increase representation rates amongst non-whites.

One of the toughest sides in the world, South Africa has forged particularly fierce rivalries with England and Australia. International success has eluded them since returning to the international fold in 1992, however, with the Proteas gaining an unwanted reputation for stumbling at the final hurdle in major tournaments.

Domestically, provincial teams take part in the SuperSport series for four-day cricket, the one-day MTN Domestic Championship and the most recently added Standard Bank Pro 20 Series "Twenty20" series.

Golf and Tennis

With its open expanses and temperate climate, golf has long proved a popular individual sport in South Africa. The country can boast one of the game's greatest talents, Gary Player, while more recently the likes of Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have risen to international prominence.

Johan Kriek may be South Africa's sole Grand Slam champion - he won the 1981 Australian Open - however tennis is another of South Africa's most popular sports. Currently in the midst of a lull on the world stage, South Africa's most recent tennis stars include Wayne Ferreira and Amanda Coetzer.

Jukskei

A folk sport believed to have originated in 1743, the object of the game is to knock over a peg placed in a sandpit from a distance of between 11m to 16m, using pins - or skeis.

Played in pairs or singles, three points are scored by knocking over the peg, while points are otherwise attributed to the player whose skie has landed closest to the peg.

Now an officially protected indigenous sport, Jukskei has evolved from its Afrikaner roots to become an increasingly popular across all spectrums of South African society.

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