Beating the boycott
The concept of touring teams is more the territory of cricket and rugby, but there was an era when football sides journeyed to South Africa too for weeks on end, giving locals a glimpse of their prowess and allowing the home sides to measure their talent against supposedly better players from overseas.
South Africa, in fact, was the first country that an English team toured, way back in 1897.
In those days, Corinthian Casuals were regarded as the best in the world and they chose South Africa for their first visit, only going to places like Argentina and Brazil many years later.
Colonial ties with Britain mean there was a steady stream of visiting teams who came over the years, first representative sides like England’s amateur national outfit, but then later clubs like Aberdeen and Motherwell from Scotland.
After World War II, visits increased dramatically with the likes of Arsenal, Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Preston North End, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers (twice) visiting South African shores. Clyde, Dundee, Dundee United and Hearts of Midlothian came from Scotland.
All came out in the off-season for what were billed as summer tours, although they arrived in South Africa to play in the cold months of May, June and July.
