South African football tours at the turn of the twentieth century:amateurs, pioneers and profits

Abstract

Academic and popular studies of South African sport generally reveal a bias towards cricket and rugby and this perpetuates the myth that these games are the most popular in South Africa. This in turn is often viewed through the lens of 'race' in which the simplifications of sport along racial lines occur. This paper argues that football was more important in South Africa among all South Africans in the late 19th and early 20th century than has been previously acknowledged. It reveals that not only was the game important and popular in South Africa but its teams and administrators played a significant role in globalising the game during this period. Tours to and from South Africa were important politically, financially and for sporting reasons. Five ground breaking football tours took place during a ten year period and these serve as the basis of discussion in this paper.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17532523.2010.483810
Divisions: College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Sociology and Policy
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities
Additional Information: This is an electronic version of an article published in Bolsmann, Chris H. (2010). South African football tours at the turn of the Twentieth Century: amateurs, pioneers and profits. African Historical Review, 42 (1), pp. 97-112. African Historical Review is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=1753-2523&volume=42&issue=1&spage=97
Uncontrolled Keywords: South African Football Association,Corinthian Football Club,Orange Free State football,sport,football tours
Publication ISSN: 1753-2531
Last Modified: 27 Mar 2024 08:10
Date Deposited: 21 Oct 2010 11:34
Full Text Link: http://www.info ... ssue=1&spage=97
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2010-06
Authors: Bolsmann, Chris H.

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