Multi-National Sport

While Leslie Sehume was in New Zealand he said that the Government's multi-national sports policy was breaking down apartheid in sport, and that eventually it would lead to an end to apartheid in sport. This is nonsense, yet it is the nonsense the South African Government would like us to believe

The South African Government are attempting to pull one of the biggest con tricks in international sport. In response to the pressure South Africa is facing from the international sporting community, the Government has realised that if they were not be be completely isolated from the international sports fields, there would have to be a change in policy. What the Government has done is to come up with a policy which gives the appearance of change (thus satisfying the international community), but which in reality reinforces and further extends apartheid in sport (thus satisfying the white electorate).

The success of the policy depends upon South Africa's ability to persuade the world that real change is occuring. It is therefore vital that the non-racial sports bodies are not permitted to leave South Africa and tell the true story. What is the true story? What changes have there been since the multi-national sports policy was introduced in 1971.

Do people of different colours play together in the same teams? No. Has there ever been mixed trials to select a South African team? No. Have the different racially exclusive sports bodies been joined together into one single sporting body? No.

What changes have there been? White, Coloured and Black teams are occasionally allowed to play with each other in the context of International tournaments. At these tournaments the whites represent South Africa and the Coloureds and Blacks represent their racial grouping only. Black and Coloured teams are allowed to play against touring international sides.

Multi-national sport, rather than bringing sportsmen from different racial grouping together into the same team, keeps them apart. But we are being asked to believe that it is leading towards the breakdown of apartheid in sport. Far from it. Multi-national sport is a double dose of apartheid sport.

Stanley Uysm, writing in the Johannesburg 'Sunday Times' (20 April 1975) believes that the multi-national sports policy has created a 'potential minefield.'

He goes on: 'there is a fundamental difference between multi-national and multi-racial sport. The former causes race divisions to reinforce team partisanship and to channel spectator and player emotions into race outlets. Multi-racial sport in unsegregated stands could help to knit black and white players and black and white spectators into groups that are not racially defined.'