[1][2] While the National Party introduced apartheid in 1948, it added sport-specific restrictions from the late 1950s, on interracial sport within South Africa and international travel by nonwhite athletes.
Although from the mid-1970s the National Party relaxed the application of segregation provisions in relation to sport, this failed to alleviate the boycott, which continued until the end of apartheid.
[4] Athletes could have their names deleted from the register by giving a written undertaking not to return to apartheid South Africa to compete.
[9] In 1968, the IOC was prepared to readmit South Africa after assurances that its team would be multi-racial; but a threatened boycott by African nations and others forestalled this.
[16] South Africa's presence in Toronto caused the withdrawal of the teams from Jamaica, India, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya, and of the Canadian federal government's promised funding.
[17] The organisers of the 1980 and 1984 Paralympics acceded to their governments' demands not to invite South Africa, but through to 1983 it continued to compete in the non-Paralympic ISMGs at Stoke Mandeville.
[19] The ISMGF gave a lifetime ban to 1976 table tennis medallist Maggy Jones for distributing anti-apartheid leaflets at the 1979 ISMG.
[15][21] Prior to apartheid, the 1934 British Empire Games, originally awarded in 1930 to Johannesburg, was moved to London after the South African government refused to allow nonwhite participants.
[23][24] The Thatcher government's refusal to enforce the Gleneagles Agreement in the UK led Nigeria to initiate a boycott of the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, which involved 32 of 59 eligible teams.
Calls to ban them from the 1986 games were rejected by SFAA as inconsistent with its message of inclusivity, but the few (white) South Africans considering entry decided to withdraw.
[27] The extent of boycotting varied between different sports, in the degree of contact permitted and the severity of punishment of "rebels" who defied the sanctions.
[45] In 1989, the ICC agreed that playing in South Africa would carry a minimum 4-year ban on international selection, with an amnesty for previous instances.
[48] South African world champions during apartheid included Jody Scheckter (1979 Formula One) and motorcyclists Kork Ballington (two titles each in 1978 and 1979) and Jon Ekerold (1980 350cc).
Several constructors withdrew from the 1985 edition of the South African Formula One Grand Prix, the last held before the end of apartheid.
[49] Alan Jones later admitted that he had feigned illness to withdraw his Haas Lola from the race, because its sponsor, Beatrice Foods, was under pressure from African American employees.
In 1986, though a Lions tour was cancelled, South Africans played in all-star matches in Cardiff and in London marking the IRB centenary.
Shaun Tomson and Wendy Botha respectively won the 1977 International Professional Surfers and 1987 ISA Women's World Championship as South Africans and later competed with acquired American and Australian nationality.
In the Davis Cup, the South Africa team was ejected from the 1970 edition, in part thanks to campaigning by Ashe, and was banned indefinitely.
[58] Britain, France, and the United States all threatened to withdraw from the 1977 edition after a vote to suspend boycotting teams narrowly failed.
[58] In 1977 William Hester, president of the United States Tennis Association, said "We do not support or agree with the apartheid policy of the South African government ....
South African players continued to compete on the pro tours; Johan Kriek and Kevin Curren reached Grand Slam finals, with both later becoming naturalised US citizens.
[29] By 1978, sports in which South Africa remained a member of the IF while being excluded from the world championships included fencing, field hockey, rowing, and water-skiing.
[63] Some elite South African sportspeople competed internationally for another country, after becoming eligible through naturalization, length of residency, or other criteria applicable by the relevant IF.
Examples include runner Zola Budd, whose UK nationality application was fast-tracked in time for the 1984 Summer Olympics;[64] and cricketer Kepler Wessels, who acquired Australian eligibility in the 1980s through residency, before returning to South Africa, for whom he played after the end of apartheid.
[65] The 1994 film Muriel's Wedding recounts a fictional 1980s Australian's sham marriage to a South African swimmer seeking Olympic eligibility.
The country's hosting and winning of the 1995 Rugby World Cup was a powerful boost to post-apartheid South Africa's return to the international sporting scene.
[67] A 1999 academic paper argues that "sport fulfilled an important symbolic function in the anti-apartheid struggle and was able to influence the other policy actors, but generally to a far less significant extent than is usually asserted".