South Africa’s national rugby team, the Springboks, are second only to New Zealand’s All Blacks when it comes to international play, and the “green and gold” are widely respected both within South Africa as well as abroad. Beyond that, thousands of adults and children alike play in rugby leagues and unions at varying levels of competitiveness.
As the host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa showed just how much it loves its football. It’s the most widely played sport in the country recreationally, and many South Africans play both for the national team as well as for prestigious European clubs.
While South Africa was banned from international cricket competition during apartheid, it’s team, the Proteas, burst onto the scene with a vengeance in 1991. Cricket South Africa’s development program has made the game accessible for all South Africans, and it’s followed and played widely by thousands of citizens every year.
Netball has always been extremely popular with Commonwealth countries, and South Africa is no exception. Most often played by girls and women, South African netball has been competitive in many tournaments, including the major international tournament hosted by the Confederation of Southern African Netball Associations and the Netball Grand Series.
South Africa has produced more than 70 world champions of boxing. While the country has been unable to host world title matches itself (ostensibly due to a lack of funding), the interest and push for one is there, and hopefully this may be turned around in the future!
Hockey of the field variety (though South Africa does boast some ice hockey, it is not nearly as popular), is played by men and women at many different levels throughout the country. Cape Town recently played host in January to a bout of test matches leading up the World Cup later this year, and drew much attention from fans all over the world.
While professional-level tennis in South Africa has not seen the same success it did several decades ago, it is still an extremely popular sport among South Africans to play recreationally.
Two words: Ernie Els. Two more: Gary Player. South Africa has produced some of the greatest golfers in the world, beyond “The Big Easy” (Els’s nickname), and the sport is very popular with South Africans. The country has a phenomenal selection of golf courses, and the golf tourism industry has ensured that it will continue to draw a lot of attention and talent through the years.
South Africa is known for its incredible beaches, so it’s no surprise that surfing is a popular sport. Especially notable is Jeffrey’s Bay (or J Bay) and its famous Supertube, considered to be the best righthand point break in the world.
Horse racing has always been a popular sport to watch among South Africans, and there are several derby races that draw huge crowds. For instance, the annual J&B Met at the Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town draws more than 50,000 people each year and spectators come decked out in some of the country’s finest fashions.
