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Nelson Mandela Day: How the beautiful game shaped the Rainbow Nation

By Karl Harrington

SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA - DECEMBER 15: A boy plays with a South African national flag in front of a mural of Nelson Mandela in Soweto Township, as the funeral of former South African President takes place in Qunu, on December 15, 2013 in Soweto, South Africa. Mr Mandela passed away on the evening of December 5, 2013 at his home in Houghton at the age of 95. Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994 after spending 27 years in jail for his activism against apartheid in a racially-divided South Africa. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA - DECEMBER 15: A boy plays with a South African national flag in front of a mural of Nelson Mandela in Soweto Township, as the funeral of former South African President takes place in Qunu, on December 15, 2013 in Soweto, South Africa. Mr Mandela passed away on the evening of December 5, 2013 at his home in Houghton at the age of 95. Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994 after spending 27 years in jail for his activism against apartheid in a racially-divided South Africa. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) /
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Apartheid and FIFA ban

The same year that Robben Island opened as a prison, FIFA suspended South Africa for racist policies.

By that time a ‘white only’ league, the National Football League (NFL), had been in practice for over a decade. The league attracted big crowds and turned professional in the late 50’s.

The division prospered to such an extent that English World Cup winners Bobby Moore, Booby Charlton, and Geoff Hurst all had stints with NFL side Hellenic.

The largest organisation for black players was the National African Soccer League (NASL). The division was also hugely popular within its section of society but, compared to the NFL, had many challenges to overcome such as restrictions on land ownership and access to public facilities.

Without democracy in the state, many NASL players supported the segregation of the leagues, preaching the slogan ‘no normal sports in abnormal society.’

However, still not everybody fitted neatly into the NFL or NASL and seperate divisions catered for colored and Indian races.

The only time they mixed was during the Kajee Cup; a tournament where ‘international’ fixtures were held between black, Indian, and colored XIs. The NFL did not enter a team as black and white players on the same pitch would not be tolerated.

Progress was finally made in ’76 when the dark skinned Vincent Julius featured for the Arcadia Sheperds in the NFL. Fans vehemently opposed his presence, but the government and NFL allowed it instead of having to deal with the backlash from increasing global scrutiny.

The same year a multi-raced team played a friendly against a visiting Argentinean side, although the crowd was still divided by race.

South Africa won 5-0 thanks to a hat-rick from Jomo Sono, a South African legend who went on to play alongside Pele and Beckenbauer at the New York Cosmos.

Colors finally coerced in ’78 as the National Professional Soccer League discarded color regulations.

But a united front on the football field was not mirrored by society. Chaos continued on the streets with a young knife carrying Lucas Radebe among those caught up in the violence.

Future Champions League winner Benni McCarthy witnessed a stray bullet take the life of a friend and, in Ian Hawkey’s Feet of the Chameleon, he talks of how was a bloodshed was a part of daily life:

"“We would wait behind at the school most days because there was some sort of commotion going on outside, gangs, shootings. You’d hear gunshot everyday.”"

After apartheid

In June 1992, two years after Mandela’s release from prison, FIFA lifted the 30 year ban on South Africa from international competitions.

The country’s first game was against Cameroon in front of a crowd of mixed ethnicity. Kaiser Chiefs star ‘Doctor’ Khumalo got the only goal of the game to give South Africa a historic win.

In May of ’94 Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first black head of state. Later that evening he excused himself from guests as esteemed as the Clintons, Muammar Gaddafi, and Fidel Castro to go and watch his country play Zambia.

The score was level when he arrived at halftime but a visit to the changing room inspired the side to a 2-0 win.

Less than two years later, Nelson Mandela celebrated on the pitch in Soweto after his country was crowned champions of Africa.

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