Reconciliation game: Australian Football in the new South Africa

The Project critically investigates the Australian Football League's claims that the importation of Australian Football into the new South Africa will strengthen cross-racial reconciliation within that country. Touring Indigenous Australian teams have promoted the reconciliatory power of Australian Football, as a code untainted by a history of colonial racism and discrimination. The promotion of Australian Football as beyond race contrasts heavily with Rugby and Soccer as games inextricably linked to the politics of Apartheid in South Africa. This Project will examine the potential for Australian Football to offer a sporting dialogue capable of assisting reconciliation in post-Apartheid South Africa.