NZers to South Africa

For anyone who might be interested, I've written a blog entry on the new trend of Kiwis signing for South African clubs. I have lived in both NZ and SA and been a regular spectator in the stadia of both countries so have a reasonable insight into this. So if you need to kill some time, click here. :)

Well done, but obvious glaring omission in terms of South Africa/NZ connection is the late Keryn Jordan and his son, Liam Jordan, 17, who is currently playing at Bidvest Wits, and who has trialled at Manchester United.

Good read, great way to kill some down time at work thanks :)

So who was the first Kiwi to play professional  football in South Africa?

I doubt that is even close.

you?

That's what I was thinking as well

I think you will find that all this info before 1991/92 has been removed and it is almost impossible to find anything. In the 60's through to the 80's football (white only) was big and some well known names played in this league. There was also the a massive followling for the black teams like Kaiser Chiefs etc.

Michael Utting was not the first Kiwi to play in SA.

There was of course Grahame Thorne who was an  All Black that played football (rugby)  for Northern Transvaal for a few seasons.

Who was the earliest kiwi that you can recall then?

I really don't know.

so you make an emphatic statement (against someone who has taken the time to research) that Utting was not the first kiwi there, then say you have no idea who came before him? 

Classic Yellow Fever Forums. 

I'm not sure if Leggy is taking the piss or not ?

I have a vague idea (subsequently confirmed on Wikipedia) that Leggy played in South Africa sometime in the 1970's ?

That is quite well played if he did actually. 

I'm sure you know Mike.

That is quite correct about the 60's, 70's and 80's being halcyon days for the white leagues in South Africa. Geoff Hurst, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Iain St. John and countless others turned out for South African clubs, some on guest contracts.

It's not that the pre-democracy records have been expunged, far from it. I have plenty of South African annuals from the old days that detail players and staff at the likes of Cape Town City, the old Hellenic, Lusitano, Rangers Johannesburg and Durban City etc. It's just that, despite looking through at length, I am unable to find any Kiwi representation. When the leagues became mixed in the mid-80's, the first player I could find was Utting. But I stand corrected if anyone can name any other Kiwis who played in SA before him.

I must have missed something.

Yeah but you're Kenyan. #noneligibility

No such thing in those days. Was a British colony.

Come on Leggy, spill.... who do you know that played there around your time? Did Bill de Graf have a stint there?

NP as I mentioned before I really don't know, but if anyone did I have never heard it. Bill certainly did not.

So the dates to beat are 1970-1973.

you played there though didnt you? How about Alan Vest? And I am not going to keep asking btw 

I did for  those dates mentioned. Alan Vest went to Oz in the 70's and played for Newcastle and moved to Perth. I believe he also coached in Malaysia before moving back to Perth Glory as one of their coaches.