No racial unity in SA when it comes to sport

It’s tough not to racialise things — from our education, transport and health systems to something as inspirational as sport.

We all cheered when the Springboks clinched the World Cup in 2019. We all shared in the joy, hugging and high-fiving strangers. I even recall uttering the words “bru” and “dude” to some chap as we were celebrating.

We did the same in 2023. We flocked into the streets to welcome our heroes. We were at the airport hours before the team landed, and we tracked the plane in the air as it made its way back from France. We were stronger together, as the slogan puts it.

So it was a bitter pill when our national soccer team Bafana Bafana arrived back in the country this week. They were the third-best team at the Africa Cup of Nations — a great feat for a team many did not think had a chance.

Where were the adoring fans? Where was the unity? Where were the long lines? Where were the Bafana jerseys? You would be forgiven for mistaking Bafana’s welcome for an EFF rally.

According to Discovery Bank’s Spend Trend Rugby World Cup 2023 edition, about 1,000 South Africans made their way to France to watch the Boks. This is not the official number of all South Africans who attended the tournament, but just the ones who bank with Discovery.

Aside from a handful of celebrity fans who travelled at the government’s expense, few South Africans attended Afcon.

A flight to France from South Africa takes about 11 hours, return flights cost R18,000, accommodation was about R3,997 a night, and ticket prices were between €75 (R1,500) and €950 (R19,500) for the knockout rounds. Yet the stadiums had a healthy number of South Africans in them.

Aside from a handful of celebrity fans who travelled at the government’s expense, few South Africans attended Afcon. It was sad to see empty stadiums when Bafana played. The 1,000 who travelled to France would have made a respectable difference.

I will concede that travelling in Africa is a long and tedious task, but are we not stronger together? Are we not behind our team? Are we not united? Surely it is worth enduring longer travelling times and less luxurious accommodation to support our team?

This attitude transcends sport. It’s sad, but in South Africa anything predominantly black enjoys less support. It is even sadder when you consider that we are a country with a black majority.

You can’t help but compare this mindset to the attitude we have towards the government too.

Government means black, and black means substandard and poor. Try as you might to deny this, it is the truth. During his state of the nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa told the story of a group of people receiving care in a public hospital. This group, according to Ramaphosa, saw no need to go to a private hospital because they were getting the care they needed.

Ramaphosa’s utterance was followed by snickers of disbelief. In the interviews that followed the official proceedings, the story was called unbelievable. Who in their right mind would want to be in a public hospital?

Why, though? Why is it so hard to believe that a public facility could be doing well? What’s so unthinkable about doctors trained in the same way as their private peers doing a good job just because they happen to be in a public building?

What’s so unbelievable about a soccer team with a majority of black players doing well and getting support from all South Africans, black and white?

What’s so incredible about being a qualified doctor doing your best in Mpumalanga, and not in a private setting?

Clearly, something needs to change. People need to look in the mirror and ask themselves some difficult questions. They must forget about the incompetence of the government for a moment and ask themselves why they are happier rooting for the Springboks than Bafana.

Why is a private doctor viewed as better than one at a public hospital? Why were there no white people to welcome back our boys? Why are we not stronger? We clearly are not together yet.