Integrating a Popular Sport into the Patrimony in a South African Provincial Town: The Case of Football in Stellenbosch

The awarding of the 2010 World Cup to South Africa was presented as an enormous achievement for South Africans. It was believed that one of the many benefits would be that tourism would be given a community-oriented focus. In the light of this, the Stellenbosch Municipality, situated in the Western Cape, launched the 'Great Stellenbosch 2010' project in 2006. As part of the project, the black township of Kayamandi was given a building to promote tourism in the Stellenbosch area and to enhance infrastructure in the township. However the coloured football community of Stellenbosch contested the project. This article describes the local club structure and local political circumstances. A series of interviews reveal the disaffection felt by the coloured community about the building in the black township. The article also describes how the initiative actually inflamed old race-based divisions between the black and coloured communities and sowed confusion around the symbol of togetherness that the World Cup was meant to embody.