vice-chancellor's message
2 Blue and Gold
alumni to our inaugural UWC Soccer Legends Reunion in March. This event holds great significance for the University as it seeks to recognise the many former and current students who have given us so much pride and joy through the experience of soccer. It is also a deeply personal event for me as I, during my days as a student at this university, enjoyed being part of the soccer fraternity. It bound us together in ways that went far beyond soccer, giving us the chance to experience camaraderie and friendship we would otherwise not have known. Those of you familiar with the history of sport at UWC will remember the early days when there were few facilities on campus. Yet, these deprivations did not dampen our enthusiasm or passion. Soccer has been played at UWC since the University opened in the 1960s, with the first formal match being played in 1965 against Hewat Teachers Training College. Back then, our team was made up of volunteers, mainly drawn from the hostel students. UWC lost that game badly but our competitive spirit remained strong and, for the next six years, we would compete against Hewat in an inter-college soccer tournament. Throughout the decades that followed, soccer continued growing as one of the key sporting codes on campus. Throughout this time, the spectre of apartheid would make its presence felt as it played out in student politics, the influence of the anti-apartheid movement on sport, and the very clear and obvious disparities in the conditions under which soccer was played. But, amidst all this, we had fun – as we did in the 1970s with the South African Black Intervarsity Council (SABIC) tournaments and in the 1980s with the hostel soccer league, the forerunner of the Campus Mini Soccer World Cup. Today, soccer continues to occupy pride of place among our sporting codes. We have women and men’s teams who have excelled not only at the university level but also on our provincial and national stages. In fact, UWC produced female players who represented South Africa at the 2019 Soccer World Cup. Each generation of UWC soccer
it is my great honour and pleasure to welcome our soccerplaying alumni to our inaugural uwc soccer legends reunion in march. this event holds great significance for the university players brought its own stars and I hope that there will be many joining us as we celebrate this momentous reunion. And, as we celebrate this event and our accomplishments, we should also think about the many former soccer comrades and teammates who are no longer with us.
Prof Tyrone Pretorius Rector and Vice-Chancellor, University of the Western Cape
Images: Supplied
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ere we are, a new year, a new decade and – I hope – a renewed sense of optimism and determination to make the most of 2020. It is a big year for the University of the Western Cape (UWC) family. As we turn 60 years old, I am proud to say this institution has played a pivotal role in my life. I have seen, firsthand, how it has transformed over the years to become a beacon of hope, a catalyst for positive change and a vibrant intellectual frontrunner in the academic and social spheres. For me, sport has also played a massive role in that student experience. Which is why it is my great honour and pleasure to welcome our soccer-playing
