Western Cape sports legends honoured

Professor Andre Odendaal who defied the Apartheid regime to become the first white first-class cricket player to play in the non-white South African Cricket Board during the turbulent 1980s was amongst the class of 2025 sports luminaries inducted as Western Cape Sports Legends.

The 70-year-old Odendaal, who has authored several books including Pitch Battles: Sport, Racism and Resistance with Peter Hain and Robben Island Rainbow Dreams, was honoured along with 25 others at a ceremony hosted by the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport.

The ceremony, which took place at the Kronenburg Estate, was the 17th edition of awards to pay tribute to many of those involved in sport but were separated due to Apartheid, overcoming adversity under the regime to shape the sporting landscape of the country.

Odendaal says while he was honoured, he is also humbled with the award. “The beauty of the occasion is that ordinary persons who dedicated their lives to serving others have been recognised along with me. The specialness is for instance the stories being told by others in their sports journey. Like Oom Kosie from Worcester who related being stopped by a traffic officer with 12 kids in his car on his way to the local sports field for them to go and practise athletics.

“This is the commitment which humbles me. It shows what it takes to commit to sport and shows that there are many dimensions to sport. It tells the all-encompassing aspect of life in sport. I have been involved at various levels in sport for over 60 years. I’m getting a bit old now,” said Odendaal, with a broad smile.

Former pro footballer and former Bafana goalkeeper coach Farouk Abrahams was also honoured not only for his achievements in playing days but also for his role in establishing the Goalkeeper and Lifeskills Academy (FAGA).

Ricardo Mackenzie, MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport, paid tribute and lauded the honourees. “Your place in history is secured, not because of a single game, a record, or a championship, but because of the lives you have changed. Your legacy is not just in the past, it lives on in every child you have mentored, every athlete you have coached, and every community you have uplifted,” Mackenzie said.

The list of sport legends included Julie William Abrahams (posthumous, cricket); Dirk Brits (jukskei); Joseph Carolus Daniels (athletics and multi-sport development); Kader De Goede (football and sport administration); Gerald Conrad De Jager (rugby and lifesaving); Avril Fillies (rugby journalism and coaching); Dr Mikhail Galukhin (fencing); Andy James (rugby and athletics); Mark Jacobs (athletics and sport education); Andile Kilani (rugby); Kosie Koopman (athletics); Edmund Lewis (athletics); Peter Lindenberg (water skiing, powerboating and motorsport); Hudson Pillay Mati (football); Mondlaleli  Ngcaba (rugby); Overton November (athletics and rugby); Mattheus Van Papendorp (tug-of-war and disability sport); Katrine Anne Puttick (equestrian and para-sport); Nadene Scherman (netball); Jerry Seale (sport and disability advocacy); Hendrik Steyn (kickboxing and martial arts); Christine Van Coller (tennis); Paul Van der Merwe (tug-of-war); and Andre Visser (cricket)