South African Sports

South Africa was absent from international sport for most of the apartheid era due to sanctions, but started competing globally after the country's white electorate voted in a referendum in favour of a negotiated settlement of the apartheid question.

South Africans love almost all sport activities rugby, cricket and soccer being the most popular sports. There are more than 400 golf courses in South Africa, including a course designed by G Gary Player at Sun City in the Northwest Province.

Rugby in South Africa

The Danie Craven Museum in Stellenbosch is one of the most comprehensive rugby museums in South Africa. In front of the museum is the memorial statue of Danie Craven and his dog, Bliksem, one-and-a-half times larger than life. Did You Know? Stellenbosch University's rugby club is the largest rugby club in the world.

The most important rugby stadiums in South Africa are:

• Newlands, Cape Town
• Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

The national rugby team is the Springboks.

Cricket in South Africa 

Cricket is extremely popular in South Africa. When South Africa plays a five-day test, almost the whole male South African population comes to a standstill, most of them glued to the TV or radio, even during business hours.

The main cricket fields of South Africa are:

·         Newlands, Cape Town

·         St George's Park, Port Elizabeth 

Soccer in South Africa

Soccer is the most popular spectator sport in the black community. The only stadium is the FNB Stadium. The national team's name is Bafana Bafana, meaning 'boys boys'.