Civil rights organisation AfriForum and trade union Solidarity have announced legal plans to deal with racial quotas and what they believe is government interference in sport.
This comes after Sport and Recreation Minster Fikile Mbalula announced the banning of four main sport federations from hosting any major international tournament in South Africa. This is because they have failed to reach their transformation targets.
The two organisations told reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday that they believed there should be no political interference in sport, and that it should not be based on racial quotas but instead on merit.
AfriForum's CEO Kallie Kriel said the two organisations would also lodge complaints with international sports federations.
“The regulations of almost all international sporting bodies expressly prohibit any form of racial discrimination and government interference in sport,” he said.
Solidarity chief executive Dirk Hermann said the minister's “drastic” steps amounted to nothing but unfair labour practices.
Solidarity and AfriForum will also take their case to the local courts. - Independent Media