| International opposition to apartheid in South Africa |
|---|
 Anti-apartheid protest inAmsterdam, 1988 |
Instruments and legislation |
UN Security Council Resolutions |
Other aspects |
South Africa underapartheid was subjected to a variety of internationalboycotts, including on sporting contacts. There was some debate about whether the aim of the boycott was to oppose segregation in sport or apartheid in general, with the latter view prevailing in later decades.[1][2] While theNational Party introduced apartheidin 1948, it added sport-specific restrictions from the late 1950s, on interracial sport within South Africa and international travel by nonwhite athletes. Theinternational federations (IFs) governing various sports began to sanction South Africa, both in response to the new restrictions and in reflection of the broader anti-racism of national federations in newly independentpostcolonial states. By the early 1970s, South African national teams were excluded from mostOlympic sports, although South Africans competed in individual events in some, mainly professional, sports through the 1980s. Although from the mid-1970s the National Party relaxed the application of segregation provisions in relation to sport, this failed to alleviate the boycott, which continued until theend of apartheid.[3]
In 1980, theUnited Nations' Centre against Apartheid began compiling a "Register of Sports Contacts with South Africa".[4] This was a list of sportspeople and officials who had participated in events within South Africa.[4] It was compiled mainly from reports in South African newspapers.[4] Being listed did not itself result in any punishment, but was regarded as a moral pressure on athletes.[4] Some sports bodies would discipline athletes based on the register.[4] Athletes could have their names deleted from the register by giving a written undertaking not to return to apartheid South Africa to compete.[4] The register is regarded as having been an effective instrument.[2][5][6] A consolidated list running to 56 pages was published in 1991.[7]
TheUN General Assembly adopted theInternational Convention against Apartheid in Sports on 10 December 1985.[8]
TheInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) withdrew its invitation to South Africa to the1964 Summer Olympics when interior ministerJan de Klerk insisted the team would not be racially integrated.[9] In1968, the IOC was prepared to readmit South Africa after assurances that its team would be multi-racial; but a threatened boycott by African nations and others forestalled this.[10] TheSouth African Games of 1969 and 1973 were intended to allow Olympic-level competition for South Africans against foreign athletes. South Africa was formally expelled from the IOC in 1970.[11]
In1976, African nations demanded thatNew Zealand be suspended by the IOC for continued contacts with South Africa, includinga tour of South Africa by theAll Blacks: when the IOC declined to do so, the African teams boycotted the Games.[12] This contributed to theGleneagles Agreement being adopted by theCommonwealth in 1977.[13]
The IOC adopted a declaration against "apartheid in sport" on 21 June 1988, for the total isolation of apartheid sport.[5]
South Africa participated in the annualInternational Stoke Mandeville Games (ISMG) after it joined the ISMGF (ISMG Federation) in 1962.[14] ISMG founderLudwig Guttmann supported South African participation until his death in 1980.[15] Every fourth ISMG was recognised as the quadrennialSummer Paralympic Games, and the ISMGF later evolved into theInternational Paralympic Committee. From 1965, South Africa alternated white and nonwhite ISMG teams respectively in even- and odd-numbered years.[16] Beginning in 1975, itsparasports teams were racially integrated, impelled by the refusal of the organisers of the1976 Summer Paralympics inToronto to allow an all-white team.[16] South Africa's presence in Toronto caused the withdrawal of the teams fromJamaica,India,Hungary,Poland,Yugoslavia,Sudan,Uganda, andKenya, and of theCanadian federal government's promised funding.[17][18] The associated controversy increased public awareness of, and attendance at, the games.[17]
The organisers of the1980 and1984 Paralympics acceded to their governments' demands not to invite South Africa, but through to 1983 it continued to compete in the non-Paralympic ISMGs atStoke Mandeville.[19] The ISMGF gave a lifetime ban to1976 table tennis medallist Maggy Jones for distributing anti-apartheid leaflets at the 1979 ISMG.[19][20] Swimmer Bernard Leach withdrew from the 1981 ISMG and founded Disabled People Against Apartheid, which picketed ISMGs until 1983.[19][20] In 1985 the ISMGF voted to discontinue invitations to South Africa.[15][21]
Prior to apartheid, the1934 British Empire Games, originally awarded in 1930 toJohannesburg, was moved to London after the South African government refused to allow nonwhite participants.[22]South Africa continued to participate in every Games untilit left the Commonwealth in 1961.[23][24] TheThatcher government's refusal to enforce the Gleneagles Agreement in the UK led Nigeria to initiate a boycott of the1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, which involved 32 of 59 eligible teams.[25]
TheNational Collegiate Athletic Association, which governs many North American university sports, permitted South Africans to receiveathletic scholarships and compete in its events.[26] Most suchstudent athletes were white; one exception was runnerSydney Maree, who later became a U.S. citizen.[26]
TheGay Games were instigated by San Francisco Arts and Athletics (SFAA), and South Africans participated in thefirst (1982) edition. Calls to ban them from the1986 games were rejected by SFAA as inconsistent with its message ofinclusivity, but the few (white) South Africans considering entry decided to withdraw. The SFAA objected when the organisers of the1990 games in Vancouver pledged to enforce the Gleneagles Agreement and exclude South Africa; this contributed to the foundation of the Gay Games Federation in 1989, which took over the SFAA's responsibility and endorsed the Vancouver position.[27]
The extent of boycotting varied between different sports, in the degree of contact permitted and the severity of punishment of "rebels" who defied the sanctions. This reflected the different political and social composition of each sport's IF.
Intrack and field athletics, a motion to suspend South Africa from theIAAF was defeated in 1966,[28] but had been passed by 1970.[29]The suspension was renewed year‐to‐year until South Africa was formally expelled in 1976.[30]After the end of the apartheid system, South Africa officially rejoined IAAF in 1992.[31]Zola Budd's time for thewomen's 5,000m in January 1984 was not ratified as aworld record because it was outside the auspices of the IAAF.[32]
South Africa'samateur boxing association was expelled from theAIBA in 1968.[33]
Theprofessional boxing South African Boxing Board of Control (SABBC) was expelled from theWorld Boxing Council (WBC) in 1975. The WBC remained vocal in opposition to apartheid,[34] and refused to include South African boxers in itsrankings.[35]
The SABBC had affiliated to the rivalWorld Boxing Association (WBA) in 1974.[36] It was soon well represented on the WBA executive,[37] and the 1978 conference was held there.[33] Many WBA title fights were held there, some inBoputhatswana, a putatively independentbantustan. WhenJohn Tate beatGerry Coetzee atLoftus Versfeld in 1979, the stadium had a desegregated audience for the first time.[38] AlthoughDon King criticised Tate's promoterBob Arum for doing business in South Africa, King did so himself in 1984.[39] In 1986 the WBA voted to suspend the SABBC until the end of apartheid.[40] South African boxers remained eligible for WBA rankings and fights outside the country.[40] TheNevada State Athletic Commission withdrew from the WBA for a time in 1987, citing its lax apartheid policy as one reason.[41]
In the1970 Chess Olympiad, a number of players and teams protested against South Africa's inclusion, some withdrawing themselves, and the Albanian team forfeited its match against the South African team. South Africa was expelled fromFIDE while participating in the1974 Chess Olympiad, finally returning to international competition in the1992 Chess Olympiad.
Cricket had been organised on racial lines in South Africa from its earliest days with the "Coloured" cricketerKrom Hendricks excluded from provincial and national teams from the 1890s. However, the cricketing boycott was prompted by the "D'Oliveira affair"ofBasil D'Oliveira, a "Cape Coloured" South African, forthe England team in 1968.[42] The 1970 South African tour of England was called off and replaced by a"Rest of the World" tour featuring several South African players. TheInternational Cricket Conference (ICC) imposed a moratorium on tours in 1970.[29]World Series Cricket, run outside the auspices of the ICC in 1977–79, included South African players in its"Rest of the World" team. There wereseveral "private" tours in the 1970s and"rebel" tours in the 1980s.[43] Sanctions for rebel tourists more severe in the West Indies and Sri Lanka than England and Australia.[44] In the 1980s, up to 80 English players spent the English winter playing South African domestic cricket.[45] In 1989, the ICC agreed that playing in South Africa would carry a minimum 4-year ban oninternational selection, with an amnesty for previous instances.[46]
In theWorld Cup, the Greek government banned South Africa from the 1979 competition inAthens. South Africa competed in the 1980 edition inBogotá. The prospect of their appearing in the 1981 edition, due to be staged atWaterville in Ireland, caused it to be cancelled. South Africa did not reappear until the post-apartheid era in 1992.[47]
South African golfers continued to play around the world, includingPGA Tour,European Tour, andGrand Slam events. Outside golfers competed freely inSouth African Tour events. TheMillion Dollar Challenge at theSun City resort regularly attracted some of the world's top golfers. TheOfficial World Golf Ranking included South African Tour events in its calculations from its instigation in 1986.[48]
South African world champions during apartheid includedJody Scheckter (1979 Formula One) and motorcyclistsKork Ballington (two titles each in1978 and1979) andJon Ekerold (1980 350cc).
Severalconstructors withdrew from the1985 edition of theSouth African Formula One Grand Prix, the last held before the end of apartheid. French constructorsRenault andLigier acceded to pressure to boycott from theMitterrand–Fabius administration.[49]Alan Jones later admitted that he had feigned illness to withdraw hisHaas Lola from the race, because its sponsor,Beatrice Foods, was under pressure from African American employees.[50] Some drivers said they were competing reluctantly and only out of contractual obligation to their constructor.
TheSouth African motorcycle Grand Prix likewise lapsed after 1985.
South Africa remained a member of theInternational Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era.Halt All Racist Tours was established in New Zealand in 1969 to oppose continued tours to and from South Africa. Apartheid South Africa's last foreign tour wasto New Zealand in 1981. This tour was highly controversial due to the difference of opinions. Though contacts were restricted after the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, there were controversial tours in 1980by the British Lions andby France, in 1981by Ireland, and in 1984by England. In 1986, though a Lions tour was cancelled, South Africans played in all-star matchesin Cardiff andin London marking the IRB centenary.[51] South Africa was excluded from the first twoRugby World Cups, in1987 and1991.
South Africa was suspended fromFIFA in 1961, withStanley Rous, FIFA's President, flying to South Africa in 1963 to negotiate its reinstatement with the South African Government. The South African FA proposed entering an all-white team in the1966 World Cup and an all-black team in the1970 World Cup, but this proposal was ultimately rejected.[11] The South African FA was suspended by FIFA in September 1965, and expelled from FIFA in 1976.[52]
Mexico andPhilippines withdrew from the1976 Men's Softball World Championship inLower Hutt, New Zealand due to the participation of South Africa. Both countries' associations were suspended by theInternational Softball Federation[53][54]
Surf culture traditionally self-identified as apolitical. TheInternational Surfing Association (ISA) and professional surf tours had events in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, at whichNative Hawaiian competitors were treated ashonorary whites by organisers. The 1978ISA World Championship and 1982World Surf League held in South Africa were boycotted by Australia, though individual Australians competed in the latter event. AustralianTom Carroll, having competed since 1981 in South African events, became in 1985 the first professional to boycott them.Shaun Tomson andWendy Botha respectively won the 1977International Professional Surfers and 1987 ISA Women's World Championship as South Africans and later competed with acquired American and Australian nationality.[55]
The South African Table Tennis Board (SATTB), a body founded in contravention to the white South African table tennis board, was substituted for the latter by theInternational Table Tennis Federation. While the SATTB team was able to participate in the world championships held inStockholm in 1957, team members were immediately refused passports by the government. It ruled that no black could compete internationally except through the white sports body.
At the1964 Wimbledon Championships, the Soviet government orderedAlex Metreveli to withdraw fromhis 3rd-round singles match against South AfricanAbe Segal, and the Hungarian government orderedIstván Gulyás to withdraw as Segal's partner in themen's doubles.[56] The following month'sInternational Lawn Tennis Federation meeting strongly rejected a Soviet proposal to expel South Africa, and passed two resolutions: one prohibiting racial discrimination at international tournaments, and the other prohibiting unauthorised withdrawal from tournaments except for "reasons of health or bereavement".[57] Despite the ILTF ruleToomas Leius withdrew from his quarterfinal againstCliff Drysdale in the1965 French Championships;[58] in contrast, Metreveli played and lost to South AfricanTerry Ryan at the1969 French Open.
The1973 World Championship Tennis circuit tour was split into two groups playing parallel tournaments. Group B included a tournament in Johannesburg while Group A included anti-apartheid players Metreveli andArthur Ashe.[59] Both groups included South African players.
In theDavis Cup, theSouth Africa team was ejected from the1970 edition, in part thanks to campaigning by Ashe, and was banned indefinitely.In 1973, after Ashe reported that the country's tennis organisation was sufficiently integrated, it was reinstated,[37] but was placed in theAmericas Zone instead of theEurope Zone where other African countries played. The1974 edition saw the final scratched and South Africa awarded the Davis Cup afterIndia refused to travel to South Africa for the final. While Ashe criticised India at the time, he later felt he had misread progress in tennis as broader progress in South African society.[37]Mexico andColombia refused to play South Africain 1975, as did Mexico againin 1976.[60]Britain,France, and theUnited States all threatened to withdraw from the1977 edition after a vote to suspend boycotting teams narrowly failed.[60] In 1977William Hester, president of theUnited States Tennis Association, said "We do not support or agree with the apartheid policy of the South African government .... But we have entered the draw and, unfortunately, we have to play South Africa — and in the United States."[61][62] Duringthe 1977 match in California, U.S. managerTony Trabert "hit two protestors with a racket".[61] Atthe 1978 rematch in Tennessee, attendance was low and there were "more police (150) than protesters (40) outside the gym."[63] In 1979, South Africa was banned from the Davis Cup until the end of the apartheid regime.[64]
TheSouth Africa women's team participated in theFederation Cup (now Fed Cup) through to1977, hosting and winningthe 1972 edition inJohannesburg.
Throughout the apartheid era, theSouth African Open (South African Championships before theopen era) remained a recognised ILTF event. From 1972 the men's event was part of theGrand Prix circuit (since 1990 theATP Tour) awardingworld ranking points. South African players continued to compete on the pro tours;Johan Kriek andKevin Curren reachedGrand Slam finals, with both later becoming naturalisedUS citizens.
By the end of 1970 South Africa had either been expelled or suspended byFIBA (basketball),UCI (cycling),FIE (fencing),International Gymnastics Federation,International Judo Federation,International Federation of Netball Associations,FHI (weightlifting) andFILA (wrestling).[29]
By 1978, sports in which South Africa remained a member of the IF while being excluded from the world championships included fencing, field hockey, rowing, and water-skiing.[65]
Some elite South African sportspeople competed internationally for another country, after becoming eligible throughnaturalization, length ofresidency, or other criteria applicable by the relevant IF. Examples include runnerZola Budd, whose UK nationality application was fast-tracked in time for the1984 Summer Olympics;[66] and cricketerKepler Wessels, who acquired Australian eligibility in the 1980s through residency, before returning to South Africa, for whom he played after the end of apartheid.[67] The 1994 filmMuriel's Wedding recounts a fictional 1980s Australian'ssham marriage to a South African swimmer seeking Olympic eligibility.[67]
Negotiations to end apartheid began with the 1990 release from prison ofNelson Mandela and culminated in theGovernment of National Unity formed by Mandela afterthe 1994 election. In parallel with this transition, sports ended their boycotts and each sport's IF admitted a nonracial South Africa governing body. TheEuropean Community announced its member governments' ending of the boycott in June 1991.[68]India, which vehemently opposed South Africa's apartheid policy and was at the forefront of isolating the country internationally at all levels, ended its boycott in 1991 by inviting theSouth African cricket team to the country foran ODI series and subsequently allowed theIndian cricket team totour South Africa for aTest andODI series in late 1992. The country's hosting and winning of the1995 Rugby World Cup was a powerful boost to post-apartheid South Africa's return to the international sporting scene.[69]
A 1999 academic paper argues that "sport fulfilled an important symbolic function in the anti-apartheid struggle and was able to influence the other policy actors, but generally to a far less significant extent than is usually asserted".[70]
