The contribution of the tourism sector to the South African economy has been well documented. It is also well known that tourism impacts and benefits associated with the hosting of sporting events bolster economic development at the local level, it could be in an urban or rural milieu. For rural areas, sporting events can be a major generator of tourism since they attract many spectators from different areas. While both direct socio-economic and more intangible benefits of sporting events certainly exist, the presence of sporting events may bring with it some negative impacts as well.
In South Africa, soccer is recognised as one of the country’s most popular sport codes. Because traditions of athleticism were a part of African societies, when Europeans came to the South African region, Africans adopted and adapted European sport. British colonial officials, soldiers, traders and missionaries introduced European sports to South Africa in the mid-1800s. They played sports such as soccer, cricket, and rugby and taught the games to the indigenous population. In the late 1850s, the African elite, educated at mission schools, adopted cricket, rugby and soccer, not only because they enjoyed it, but also as a symbol of their education and elite status. Missionaries, government officials, and mine owners at about that time encouraged or organized sport in an attempt to engage Africans in constructive activity, preventing them from what some white people at that time considered heathen, lazy, or destructive behaviour (such as drinking alcohol).
In mining towns and industrial areas that arose in the late 1800s and early 1900s, sport (especially soccer) became an important social organization or association. At this time, the first black sporting organizations were formed. Furthermore, with the influx of soldiers who fought in the South Africa War (1899-1902), soccer and rugby were played by a wider group of people.
Some sports soon became associated with certain races. For example, by the early 1900s, soccer became largely known as the “black sport” in most parts of South Africa. The game was easier to play for poor black people given that the only equipment needed was a ball and was promoted in most areas of the colony by missionaries. Rugby became more associated with white South Africans who were in positions of power in the colonial system. The British in general viewed soccer as a game for the lower classes, and rugby in South Africa as the game for the white people. Cricket, which became a popular sport in the country, was played primarily by white and Asian South Africans.
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The contribution of the tourism sector to the South African economy has been well documented. It is also well known that tourism impacts and benefits associated with the hosting of sporting events bolster economic development at the local level, it could be in an urban or rural milieu. For rural areas, sporting events can be a
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