Celebrating 50 years of non-racial sport

Lacing up their boots and rolling back the years, some of Tongaat’s finest footballers reunited last weekend to celebrate 50 years of non-racial sport in South Africa.

The South African Fed Legends and Tongaat Crusaders Legends played a friendly but competitive match at the Buffelsdale Stadium in Tongaat on Saturday to commemorate half a century of the South African Council on Sport (SACOS).

Founded in 1973, SACOS advocated ‘no normal sport in an abnormal society’, campaigning against segregated sporting codes and fighting for marginalised communities.

The match on Saturday was part of a countrywide celebration of the work the council did to promote sport as a bulwark against the ills of apartheid.

Players in the match were all ex-professionals over the age of 50 that played in the now defunct Federation Professional League (FPL), which was the non-racial version of the whites-only National Football League.

“The apartheid government saw the power that sport had and how it brought our communities together. First they cut off competition and then took away our grounds, but still we found ways to fight back,” said co-ordinator of the commemorative events, Vincent Pillay.

Pillay was a professional himself, featuring in the Verulam Suburbs team that won the first FPL in 1969 at Curries Fountain.

The FPL replaced the short-lived South African Soccer League (SASL) which existed between 1962-1967.

“It is sad that the stars from the FPL and SASL never got the chance to play for their country. But you only had to be there to see the talent on show to know that we could have competed against anyone,” said Pillay.

The main match on the day was preceded by one between the Pietermaritzburg Legends and Tongaat Legends, with PMB taking the spoils 1-0.

In a pulsating main showdown before a strong crowd however, it was the Fed Legends who outlasted their Tongaat counterparts to claim a 3-2 victory.

Despite being over 50, most players are still active in local leagues and produced some legitimate quality on the day.

“Ultimately it was not about winning, rather about catching up with old friends and rivals. But, of course, you can never stop sportsmen from trying to be competitive,” said Pillay.

Commemorative sporting events for SACOS will be held throughout the year. Follow the SA Fed Soccer Legends Facebook page to stay up to date.

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