Strangely though, none of the countries of the British Empire (as it was during the period that we are looking at) have adopted football as their main sport. Cricket, along with Rugby, are the sports at which most of the former colonies have excelled. It is worth noting, however, that football was played on an organised basis in many of these countries, and often at an early date.
Prior to the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 the Southern part of Africa consisted of separate colonies-the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange River Colony.
In 1910 South Africa became FIFA's first non-European member.
Here is a timeline of the development and organization of the game in Southern Africa:
Younger readers please note- all organizations, clubs etc were exclusively for White people unless otherwise stated.
Football arrived in Southern Africa (courtesy of British soldiers and Civil servants) in the pre -association days, with the first documented matches being played in Cape town and Port Elizabeth as early as 1862.
1879 - Pietermaritzburg County Football Club (for Whites-only) is established.
1880 - Durban and Johannesburg see the formation of football clubs for non-whites.
1882 - Foundation of the Natal Football Association (for Whites-only), The league featured four clubs, Pietermaritzburg County, Natal Wasps, Durban Alpha and Umgeni Stars. By the following year, the league had expanded to ten clubs.
1883- The Natal Challenge Cup first completed- Natal Wasps FC (Durban) win the first four editions.
1889 - The Transvaal Challenge Cup is introduced, Wanderers Wasps (Johannesburg) winning the first title.
1890- The Durban Charity Cup comes into being.
1890 - The Griqualand West FA formed.
1891 - Western Province FA formed. Royal Artillery wins the first three editions of the Senior League (Western Province competitions were dominated by military sides)
1892 - The South African Football Association (later known as FASA) is formed. It is a White only organization.
1893 - Griqualand West introduce aSenior League competition, Kimberley Senior League Challenge Cup. Kenilworth Kimberley are the first champions.
1893 -Western Province FA introduce the O'Reilly Cup. Royal Artillery are the first winners.
1894- The Frontier Challenge Shield is first contested in the province of Border. It is won by Queen's Park FC (King Williamstown).
1895- The first Orange Free State Challenge Cup is won by Heilbron FC.
1896- In the Orange Free State the Bloemfontein Senior League is first contested, with Rangers FC (Bloemfontein) as champions.
1896 - Transvaal Indian Football Association is formed.
1897 - First Corinthians (England) tour.
1898 - The West Griqualand Challenge Cup comes into being
1899 - Eastern Province- Caledonians (East London) win the first Port Elizabeth Senior League title.
1902- The South African Indian Football Association (SAIFA) is founded in Kimberley, where a national competition for Indians — the Sam China Cup — is held.
1903 - Second Corinthians (England) tour.
1906 - South Africa tours South America. They play 11 games against decent opposition - Argentine clubs Alumni, Belgrano, Quilmes, and representative sides of Argentinian and Uruguayan leagues as well a s team of British players based in Argentina. They are beaten only once (by Alumni) and have a 54 for 7 against goal ratio.
One member of the touring party, English born Héctor Henman stayed in Argentina, where he joining Buenos Aires top club Alumni AC. Henman played for Argentina against Uruguay later that year.
1907 - Third Corinthians (England) tour.
1910 - The South African Football Association joins FIFA, the first association from outside of Europe to do so.
1910 -The Football Association sends an amateur representative side to tour South Africa. In games against South Africa national representative team the English won: in Durban on June 29 (3-0), in Johannesburg on July 23 (6-2), and in Cape Town on July 30 (6-3).
1916 -
The Durban & District Native Football Association is established.
1920 -The Football Association sends an amateur representative side to tour South Africa .
1924- South Africa side tours Britain .Details here: http://thehamlethistorian.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/south-african-football-teams-1924-tour.html
1929- Football Association tour South Africa .
1929 -The Johannesburg Bantu Football Association is founded.
1931-Motherwell first tour of South Africa.
1932 -The South African African Football Association (SAAFA) is formed and it launches the Bakers Cup national tournament.
1933- The South African Bantu Football Association (SABFA) and the South African Coloured Football Association (SACFA) are formed.
1934 -Motherwell second tour.
1935 -The Transvaal Inter-Race Soccer Board is formed by Africans, Indians, and 'Coloureds'.
1935 -The Suzman Cup, the first official inter-racial tournament between Africans, Coloureds, and Indians, is established
1936 - The Godfrey South African Challenge Cup is established
