“Sports have the power
to change the world. They have the power to inspire and unite people who have
but a few things… and breaks racial barriers even with more ease than the most
powerful governments.” – Nelson Mandela
The political situation and general environment
was not very peaceful in South Africa in the early 1990s. Hate, racism, tyranny
and violence are just a few words which are associated with this place and
time. But there was one man who was more determined than anyone else to turn
his whole country around.
Nelson Mandela, the once violent activist, who
was portrayed as the devil himself by the South African media, had a tenacious
intent to lead the change. Not only did he take advantage of being in prison to
grow into a mature leader but he also thought of a plan to become the nation
leader.
Mandela began to take his plan to action when he
had meetings with prison guards and many important people connected to the
Apartheid government. By showing great manners, by showing that he knew the
Afrikaner culture and spoke their language, Madiba surprised everyone he met.
Thus, it became easier for him to persuade them to be able to reach the
president after several other meetings.
All that time in prison making an effort to get
to know the culture of the ancient enemy was finally worth it. These meetings
started when Mandela was still in prison, and his release didn’t stop them.
After being released from prison, Mandela used
his great charisma and his talent for political leadership in order to persuade
the South African people. Basically, he was trying to convince coloured people
to forgive white people after years of oppression, while also convincing white
people that coloured people would not retaliate if they were given more
privileges.
This was definitely a tough task for Nelson
Mandela. However, this situation didn’t go unnoticed throughout the world
because of the global political paradigm change (Berlin wall fell, communism
was declining…), and international media were rooting for Mandela.
As he became the President of the Republic of
South Africa, he had the Rugby World Cup in mind as a fundamental tool to unite
the country. At that time and place, Rugby was loved by the white population
and considered as a symbol of their pride and identity. On the other hand, this
sport was a symbol of apartheid for the black population.
They had been brought up to detest rugby. It
was as repellent as the old anthem and the old flag. Nelson Mandela led his government
to make the necessary changes to all this apartheid symbols in order to make
the black population feel connected to their nation, while avoiding stripping
the white population pride.
He also invited François Pienaar, captain of
the Springboks (South African Rugby team), for tea at his office. Pienaar was
surprised because the president was very down to earth. In his smooth style,
Mandela empowered the captain to make a great World Cup campaign for the better
of his country.
This World Cup was going to take place in South
Africa, which makes it even more important. The Springboks were motivated by
their manager (Morné du Plessis) to learn the new South African anthem which
was composed by the old anthem, “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika”, and “Nkosi Sikelel'
iAfrika" which was a very important song for the black population. The
players knew the old one, but they had to learn the new part in order to prove
their commitment to the unity of South Africa.
Mandela was the leader of this movement, but
much of the credit is due to the people who surrounded him. For instance,
Edward Griffiths, CEO of the South African rugby union, came up with the slogan
“One Team, One Country” which had a great impact when it was used in national
media to hype and unite the South African people.
They started winning and going through every
stage of the tournament while the nation was increasingly supporting them. Through
the earlier stages, both players and the white fans were surprised by the
growing enthusiasm of the black population regarding the Springboks.
They reached the final and they were considered
underdogs, as they were going to play against the almighty All Blacks. Nelson
Mandela courageously showed up on the pitch wearing the green Springbok shirt
and the respective hat, and went on to shake the hands of every player of both
teams. Even though 95 per cent of the fans in the stadium were white, just
after a moment of perplex silence, they started to scream “Nel-son! Nel-son!”
Even though the odds were against them, the
Springboks won with a drop goal in extra time. As the final whistle blew,
Mandela appeared on the pitch again, and the crowd supported him even more, as
they got very emotional with the first ever rugby world cup for South Africa. When
Mandela was going to hand over the cup to Pienaar, they both thanked each other
for what they had done for the country.
These celebrations marked the peak of unity for
South Africa in their recent past. However, this feeling was not sustainable,
since people were euphoric after such an event. Regardless of that, South
Africa became more stable than they were before. Besides, this whole campaign
provided a great example of leadership from Nelson Mandela, not only to the
South African people but also to the rest of the world.
“It always seem
impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
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