Football was 'more than just a game' in Apartheid South Africa

Football was treated as a black man’s game in the apartheid-ridden South Africa, and got little support from the state.

The internet over the last week has been abuzz with the news of Nelson Mandela’s life-threatening sickness. Nelson Mandela, as the world knows, was the driving force against racism in South Africa. Looking back on the history of Mandela and South Africa, we find that football played a crucial role in fighting racism and uniting its people, regardless of colour.

The story of football in South Africa is a story of hope, a story of how a common pursuit and love for a game can break the state-sponsored barrier of colour of skin.

Historically, South Africa has never been a country that supported football. Generous grants were given to cricket and rugby union but football was the poor man’s game, or to put it the way the government put it, the ‘black’ man’s game. In the beginning the government simply ignored the game, and later they banned it.

The public was not ready to bow down, and defied the ban by continuing to play the game. In fact, during the late 1980s, football games were a hotbed of political activity in the country. Political gatherings of any kind were banned and football games were the perfect cover for the meetings of African National Congress leaders.

The current South African president Zuma used to come out of hiding to brief his party members under the cover of football games. ANC flags, which were banned by the government, were unfurled boldly during matches. Football was indeed the opium of the masses.

But like everything in Apartheid South Africa, football had been segregated. An all-white league was formed but it was poor in terms of quality and hardly got spectators. Illegal matches between the black and white teams were frequent and it was obvious that the ‘White’ league was inferior and it duly crumbled in 1977.

Football kept countering apartheid and that was most obvious in 1976, when the South African team faced an Argentinian squad in a friendly. Unusually in those times, a squad with both black and white players was named. The South Africans won the game 5-0. The hero of the match was Jomo Sono, a black player who famously played with Pele for the New York Cosmos. Sono scored a hat-trick and showed the pro-white establishment that skill was not dependent on a man’s colour.

The dreaded Robben Island imprisoned renowned political reformist of South Africa, including Nelson Mandela

But perhaps the most inspiring story was one which took place on Robben Island. A few miles off the shore of Cape Town, Robben Island was the place to which political activists were sentenced. Having visited the place, I can attest to the bleakness of the life the prisoners must have led within the prison walls. They lived in cramped cells and most of the cells were built for solitary confinement. The walls had electric barbed wire fences and savage dogs roamed the grounds during the night.

Their usual day involved breaking boulders into small rocks and then into smaller stones which were used to build prison walls. The cells were cramped and time outside the cell was severely restricted. The food was pathetic and contact with the outside world was almost non-existent. All of this would have been enough to break the morale of the hardest of men, and that was what was happening.

But then they discovered football. For three years, every weekend a prisoner went to the warden and made a request to allow the prisoners to engage in organized football. There were penalties associated with such requests and the prisoners took turns at paying them. In 1977, the warden finally gave permission to the prisoners to play. Why he permitted them remains a mystery to this day, but his decision gave the prison’s inmates a new lease of life.

In prison, most of the members belonged to the PNC (Pro Africanist Congress) and ANC (African National Congress). They were rivals outside the prison and the rivalry continued inside too. But football bridged that gap. Initially, the prison blocks were made to compete against each other, but later the prisoners got permission to form clubs.

It was not easy organizing such a league in prison. Those who were appointed organisers had to ensure that violence did not erupt during the games. Rules had to be formed, teams had to be selected and trained. They had to work hard for every privilege but none of them gave up. Minutes of every meeting between the organisers were recorded. In short, everything was conducted with utmost professionalism. The organisers named themselves the Makana FA.

The matches were held according to FIFA guidelines. Jerseys were sewn for different clubs and even club badges were different. At its prime the Makana FA had three separate leagues running with nine teams using separate squads for each league. Soon, players developed the art of sewing studs, and while earlier rags were rolled together to form a football, later the players were provided with real footballs.

More than half the inmates were involved with the league and as many would recount later, football saved their lives. The game helped the players in sharpening their physical, mental and organizational skills. This ensured that whenever they got out of jail, they were ready to rejoin the struggle.

Lizo Sitoto, a former inmate of the feared Robben prison, said: “Football saved my life. A person locked up and doing nothing cannot think. When football was there it gave us something to talk about. That’s why it’s more than just a game.”

Many men who were a part of the league turned out to be major leaders in post-apartheid South Africa. The current president Jacob Zuma was a player as well as a referee in the league.

Steve Tsewete, who was second only to Mandela in terms of popularity, was a crucial member of the organizing board. Many of the cabinet ministers in the current South African government too were a part of the league.

And that is why football is not just a game. Football is an expression of unity, courage and brotherhood. Be it in Robben Island or the whole of South Africa, football broke barriers. Men of different colours and with different philosophies were united by a common love. A country divided by race was united by the beautiful game.