South Africa
South Africa trade unions back quota moves
ESPN Staff
June 24, 2014

The row over the issue of the reintroduction of quotas into South African sport appears to be dividing clubs and players on racial and political grounds.

On Monday, South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins sent a message to Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer calling for a greater representation of blacks in the national team. That resulted in AfriForum, a civil rights organisation, stating it would refer the matter to the IRB whose own regulations prohibit racial discrimination and political interference in rugby.

But that prompted Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU) provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich to come out in support of quotas, labelling AfriForum a racist cabal trying to defend the generational advantage of white players.

"[We have] been requested by some of the black players to speak on behalf of their particular interests," Ehrenreich said. "The players' unions clearly represent the majority of white players and speak mainly in the interest of these white players."

" COSATU calls for more representivity in all sporting codes, including more whites in soccer, as the national teams must represent the demographics of the whole country."

He accused sporting authorities of not doing enough to drive through policies and of delaying discussions "because the administrators have allowed coaches to make decisions outside of the national interest … this must stop, as the majority of South Africans demand more representative teams, in spite of cosy deals between black and white sports administrators."

"The political leadership should also be more decisive in enforcing quotas in sporting codes."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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