Soccer in South Africa

Every time the only white player in South Africa's national soccer team starting line-up touches the ball, the whole station echoes with one long, loud “Boo!”  Is that a manifestation of racial intolerance on the part of (almost exclusively) black spectators?

Not at all. The player is Mathew Booth, and the audience is actually rooting for him by calling his name.

Still, it has to be said that the three most popular national team sports (soccer, rugby and cricket, in that order) are nowhere near becoming a cohesive element in South African society, as was hoped they would be. Exceptions notwithstanding, each of the big three sports has its racially defined audience and its racially defined pool of players.  It seems that the only thing that could (eventually) overcome this parallel existence is – the magic combination of success and resources.

The South Africa national soccer team is known as Bafana Bafana (“The Boys”) from 1996. Soccer – or football – was introduced to this part of the world by the British colonialists in the late nineteenth century. The sport was for a long time segregated along racial lines: the all-white Football Association of South Africa (FASA) was formed in 1892; the South African Indian Football Association (SAIFA) in 1903; the South African Bantu Football Association (SABFA) in 1933 and the South African Coloured Football Association (SACFA) in 1936. The apartheid-era South Africa's constitution prohibited racially mixed teams from competitive sport.

Thus segregated, South African soccer was isolated from world football from 1961 to 1992 (with a one-year reprieve in 1963). In 1992, the new, unified South African soccer team played their first international game after two decades. 

South Africa hosted and won the 1996 African Nations Cup and qualified for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, but failed to get through the first round each time.
Subsequent poor performance was the reason for several changes of the coach of the national soccer team, the latest occurring in October 2009.

South Africa qualified automatically for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as the host. That probably will not be enough to restore the Bafana Bafana pride and their fans are awaiting good results from their team.

South African soccer fans deserve a special mention. They are known for their painted faces, extravagant costumes and – more than anything else – long wind instruments that create hellish noise and a most enthusiastic atmosphere. Football crowds are normally good-humoured and festive. Joining them is quite fun, whatever colour one’s skin happens to be under the (non-obligatory) layers of paint. Football hooliganism is practically unknown phenomenon in South Africa.
The 2009-2010 South African premier soccer league consists of 16 teams. The fiercest traditional rivalry is between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

Also see:

The South African Football Association

Premier Soccer League

Football in South Africa – history

Where have SA's white soccer players gone?

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