It is a little-known story outside of South Africa that has come into focus with the country hosting the continent's first World Cup.
Robben Island, best known for being home to political prisoners jailed by the old apartheid government, most famously former leader Nelson Mandela and current president Jacob Zuma. But what few realise is the role football played in shaping resistance at the prison. Many of the inmates were passionate about the game and used it to help find relief from their grim existence.
Zuma was a referee, but Mandela, later to become South Africa's first black leader, was kept in isolation with other high-risk prisoners and was not allowed to play. Warders wouldn't allow inmates a football at first so they tied rags together and played "matches" in their cells, but these were quickly broken up.
Several prisoners started writing letters of complaint, knowing it was within their rights to be allowed to exercise, but it took three long years before authorities finally caved in and let them have a ball.
They soon created a league, the Makana Football Association in 1967, named after a prophet banished to the island in 1819. They put in place the same structures that would apply to any league, based on FIFA frameworks, publishing tables, fixture lists and detailed minutes of meetings. There were even authorised transfers, often written on tiny scraps of paper.
Robben Island, best known for being home to political prisoners jailed by the old apartheid government, most famously former leader Nelson Mandela and current president Jacob Zuma. But what few realise is the role football played in shaping resistance at the prison. Many of the inmates were passionate about the game and used it to help find relief from their grim existence.
Zuma was a referee, but Mandela, later to become South Africa's first black leader, was kept in isolation with other high-risk prisoners and was not allowed to play. Warders wouldn't allow inmates a football at first so they tied rags together and played "matches" in their cells, but these were quickly broken up.
Several prisoners started writing letters of complaint, knowing it was within their rights to be allowed to exercise, but it took three long years before authorities finally caved in and let them have a ball.
They soon created a league, the Makana Football Association in 1967, named after a prophet banished to the island in 1819. They put in place the same structures that would apply to any league, based on FIFA frameworks, publishing tables, fixture lists and detailed minutes of meetings. There were even authorised transfers, often written on tiny scraps of paper.
For the full article on iafrica.com, click here.
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