169. South Africa, Cricket and Social Transformation

South Africa has imposed transformation targets (quotas) in sports for over a decade. These aim to correct the under-representation of people of colour due to historical discriminatory segregation during the apartheid era.

In light of the Black Lives Matter movemnet, several South African cricketers came forward with their stories of having suffered due to the institutionally racist nature of the game in South Africa. In July 2021, Cricket South Africa (CSA) appointed the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) Ombudsman to contribute to truth, healing, and reconciliation in the game of cricket.

The Ombudsman heard the affected cricketers and officials. It presented its Report in December 2021, concluding that CSA unfairly discriminated against players on the basis of race and recommended that a permanent ombudsman be appointed and funded to consider race and gender-based complaints and the question of reparations.

This discussion with cricket writer Firdose Moonda and Professor of Sociology, University of Johannesburg, Prof. Ashwin Desai, moderated by Chandan Gowda will throw light on the findings in the Report, the issues emerging from it, and the lessons for the cricketing world, the global sports community, and society at large.

This episode is an extract from a virtual BIC Streams session that took place on the 18th of February, 2022 in collaboration with the Sports Law & Policy Centre.