South Africans are known for their great passion for sports, and because of this, there are many sports played in the country. Sports are simply deeply ingrained in South Africa’s future and this is why people not only play sports. They also follow everything about their favourite teams and athletes and even bet on sports events.
Now, there may be plenty of sports that are played and followed in the country. However, only a few ones stand out. There are only a few sports that people are willing to spend money on by placing bets on bookies that can be found on https://bettingsites24.co.za/.
Wondering what sports have the hearts of South Africans? Here are some of them and why they are popular in the country:
Football
Football is the most popular sport worldwide and this is also the case in South Africa. It’s so popular in the country that it was able to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was the first time that this event happened in the African continent.
Of course, South Africa has a national football team of its own. The men’s national football team is Bafana Bafana which means “The Girls” and the women’s team is called the Banyana Banyana or “The Girls”.
Bafana did play at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but sadly they were the first steam to exit the group stage in the World Cup. Aside from this team, other popular football clubs in the country are the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates which played in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
Cricket
Cricket is the second-most popular sport worldwide and this is also applicable in South Africa. That said, South Africa is one of the leading cricket nations worldwide next to India. South Africa has indeed produced some of the most talented cricket players of all time like AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn, and Jonty Rhodes.
The South African men's and women’s national cricket teams are both called the Proteas, which is the national flower of the country. Over the last five years, the South African cricket teams have been doing well in cricket Tests.
Many would even say that South African cricketers are fearsome because of their brutal fast bowling. One of the most popular cricketers of all time is Tabraiz Shamsi. He has ranked number 1 in T20 cricket and is one of the best bowlers in the world.
Rugby
Rugby may be a sport that is not one of the most followed worldwide, but this is part of the so-called “Big 3 Sports in South Africa”. When it comes to Rugby, what’s mainly popular in South Africa is Rugby Union and the national team is the Springboks.
South Africa has hosted the Rugby World Cup three times already and it is the only other country that has been able to do so aside from New Zealand.
Aside from Rugby Union, there is also the Rugby League. While this isn’t as popular as Rugby Union in South Africa, many people would still follow this sport. However, the country’s Rugby League team, Rhinos, isn’t doping as well as the country’s Rugby Union teams.
Runners Up
Aside from these three sports, South Africans also enjoy other sports too like Athletics, Basketball, and Triathlon.
South Africa has produced several great players in the world of Athletics or tracks and fields like Shane Victor, Ofentse Mogawane, Willem de Beer, and Oscar Pistorius. These three were able to set a record time of 2:59.21 at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics that was held in Daegu, South Korea.
Meanwhile, basketball is starting to gain more and more popularity in the country too. This is especially a popular sport for the young people in the country. There are also great basketball players here and the governing body of this sport is Basketball South Africa which has been around since 1992.
When it comes to Triathlon, one of the notable South African athletes is Henri Schoeman who is an Olympic bronze medalist. He was able to finish third at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. There’s also Conrad Stolz who is a three-time Xterra Triathlon world champion. Other names popular in this field are Hendrick de Villiers, Richard Murray, and Dan Hugo.
Aside from these runners-up, other sports played in the country are cycling, combat sports like boxing and MMA, golf, hockey, motorsports, tennis, and obstacle course racing. These are minor sports events that you won’t see much in South African sportsbooks.