In the Gleneagles Agreement, in 1977,
Commonwealth presidents and prime ministers agreed, as part of their support for the international campaign against
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, to discourage contact and competition between their sportsmen and sporting organisations, teams, or individuals from
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. The agreement was unanimously approved by the Commonwealth of Nations at a meeting at
Gleneagles,
Perthshire,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
The Gleneagles Agreement reinforced their commitment, embodied in the
Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles (1971), to oppose racism. This commitment was further strengthened by the Declaration on Racism and Racial Prejudice, adopted by Commonwealth leaders in Lusaka in 1979. The Commonwealth was a relevant body to impose a sporting ban on South Africa because several of the sports most popular among white South Africans are dominated by Commonwealth member states, for example
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
.
See also
*
Sporting boycott of South Africa during the apartheid era
South Africa under apartheid was subjected to a variety of international boycotts, including on sporting contacts. There was some debate about whether the aim of the boycott was to oppose segregation in sport or apartheid in general, with the la ...
*
Rugby union and apartheid
Rugby union and apartheid had a complex and supportive relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South Africa rema ...
*
1981 Springbok Tour
*
South African rebel tours
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because the international cricketing bodies banned South Africa from competitive international cricket throughou ...
*
Halt All Racist Tours
Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was a protest group set up in New Zealand in 1969 to protest against rugby union tours to and from South Africa. Founding member Trevor Richards served as president for its first 10 years, with fellow founding member ...
*
South Africa national rugby union team
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerse ...
*
South Africa cricket team
The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...
References
External links
*{{citation , url=http://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/inline/GleneaglesAgreement.pdf , title=The Gleneagles Agreement on Sporting Contacts with South Africa , date=1977 , publisher=Commonwealth , location=London
International opposition to apartheid in South Africa
History of the Commonwealth of Nations
History of Perth and Kinross
Commonwealth sports competitions
Events associated with apartheid
Politics and sports
1977 in politics
1977 in sports
1977 in Scotland
1977 in international relations
South Africa–United Kingdom relations
Rugby union and apartheid