Striker Gregory Baptist, right, on the ball during a fixture at Curries Fountain Stadium during his time with former Federation Professional League team, Berea FC.
The book "The Unsung Legends of Wentworth Football", by Lorraine Richards, was recently launched at the Durban International Book Fair in uMhlanga. It delves into the forgotten footballing stories of players who had “magic in their boots” but were denied their rightful place in South Africa’s football history. They flourished despite apartheid’s restrictions in the 1970s and 1980s, when Durban’s non-racial football movement used sport as a powerful instrument of resistance. Another launch event will be held at The Blue Roof Wellness Centre in Wentworth on August 29.
DURING the 1970s and 1980s, Durban became a massive battleground for "non-racial" sport. Anti-apartheid activists used soccer, the most popular sport in the townships, as a powerful tool to actively break segregation laws.
The most direct defiance came from local, independent soccer associations that refused to affiliate with government-sanctioned, racially segregated sporting bodies.
In Durban, the Durban Central Football Association (DCFA) became a legendary hub of resistance. Guided by the principles of the South African Council on Sport (SACOS), the DCFA openly invited players of all races- African, Indian, and coloured, to play in the same league.
