Browsing by Author "Chidamwoyo, Kudzai Allan"

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    Coming to South Africa : a historical analysis of the participation of foreign footballers in South African domestic football leagues, 1985–2020
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Chidamwoyo, Kudzai Allan; Venter, Gustav; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : This study seeks to contribute to an emerging literature on African football, especially on the topic of player migration. The subject of African players migrating to Europe to advance their football careers has been well explored. This study, however, takes a different approach by considering the migration of players to South Africa’s top professional football league, the Premier Soccer League (PSL), during the period 1985–2020. This primarily represents a form of intra-continental player migration as the vast majority of foreign players entering the PSL have historically been from elsewhere in Africa. Through utilising contemporary football media sources, interviews, public and privately available data as well as secondary football sources, this study aims to analyse the patterns of this migration over time. The period under investigation incorporates both a portion of South Africa’s isolation from international football due to apartheid, as well as the country’s readmission into the international fold where new forces began impacting the domestic football structure. The study begins in 1985 with the formation of the National Soccer League (NSL) – the forerunner to the present day PSL. This league was played on a multiracial basis with government approval, and despite South Africa’s international isolation at the time, it did contain a number of foreign players that circumvented the international boycott. These elements are analysed up to 1992 – the year of South Africa’s return to FIFA. Thereafter the focus shifts to the post-isolation period when international player recruitment could now be done by South African clubs within formal football structures and as part of the international football community. Other important considerations include the rise in sponsorship in South African domestic football during the 2000s, as well as the country’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The study analyses the degree to which these forces impacted foreign player recruitment within the PSL. Finally, the study looks at specific positional patterns regarding foreign player recruitment, and also assesses to what degree foreign players have contributed to the success of local South African teams. It represents a novel contribution to the historical literature on African and South African football, which has grown substantially over the past two decades.