As in many places around the globe, there are many sports practiced in Africa, and especially in the South African territory. In addition, it offers a positive outlook on athletic success.
The local people not only like to practice a good variety of sports but also follow and bet on them. So, if you are looking for good bookmakers to place your sports bets with, don’t forget to take a look at https://www.mightytips.com/bookmakers/south-africa-betting-sites/.
Indeed, sport is one of the means that has contributed to the regrouping of the South African people, who have a great cultural and ethnic diversity. So, what is the most popular sport in South Africa?
We talked to author Kate Richardson, a specialist in sports here, and we came to a few sports that are quite popular among South Africans. Here they are.
Rugby
It is a very popular sport in South Africa, and, if we take a look at the big picture in the continent, it is likewise in other countries like Morocco, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast. The Africa Cup is the main rugby competition on the continent.
However, it is only the South African rugby team that participates in the intercontinental tournament, called “The Rugby Championship”. The proliferation of rugby in the continent has started in this country.
In addition, around 600,000 rugby players have been registered in South Africa.
According to the publication of the World Rugby Rankings in July 2017 (this is a ranking created in 2003 allowing a comparison of the performance of national men’s rugby union teams), South Africa is ranked 5th.
The Springboks, the South African national rugby team, won the Rugby World Cup in 1995. Among the African countries which also consider this a popular sport in Africa and have succeeded in rugby competitions are:
- Kenya
- Ghana
- Namibia
Football
It is without a doubt the most popular sport in Africa, independent of the country, and it’s no different from South Africa.
Since its inception at the start of the 20th century, football has grown to become one of the most popular sports on the continent, as it is a discipline that does not require a lot of resources. So, if you want to know what is the most popular sport in Africa, and we have to say just one: it’s football.
It is therefore common to see young people playing football across the country during a trip to South Africa, even in rural areas. Sometimes you can even see these kids running down the streets with a ball made with plastic bags rolled up with strings.
It is for this reason that the talents of South African footballers start at the local level. Moreover, among the stars of African football, there are a few who started their careers on local grounds. The continent’s first national team was established in 1926. In 1934, it was the Egyptian team that emerged as the first African team to have participated in the World Cup.
The 53 African nations each have clubs in the African Football Confederation. Then, South Africa was the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010 and we all remember the party and excitement the country showed to the world.
With that said, we can conclude that football is certainly the most popular sport in South Africa not only among young people but also among older ones.
Athletics
Africa is a formidable continent in the field of athletics, especially in track and field events, and it is obvious that it has become a popular sport in Africa. It can be said that Africans have done well in world athletics competitions.
Indeed, several African athletes have broken world records during high-level international sporting events. In this way, we can count several African countries which are renowned for their performance such as Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Algeria.
In addition, thanks to the efforts of these athletes, who have also been the subject of the media, more and more youngsters are looking for this sport.
It is true that it is still not the most popular sport in South Africa among young people, however, there was a time it was. That happened in the early 90s when Reginald Edgar Walker – a local athlete – won the 100-meter event during the 1908 Summer Olympics that African athletics flourished.
Nowadays, it is common to see South African athletes in both men’s and women’s track and field events, even though they are not the best in the continent.
Conclusion
When making the question “what is the most popular sport in South Africa?”, we have come to a few conclusions. Football is certainly a favorite sport of many around the country and also in the African country.
However, it is not the only one. Athletics also has the status of most popular sport in Africa and is quite popular in South Africa, although not as much as it used to be.
And apart from that, there is also Rugby, which is quite popular a sport in South Africa, with the national men’s team going to international events and having great results among the African continent.
Independent on the sport, it is obvious that South Africans love to practice sports and usually take part in important sports competitions around the world.