COMMONWEALTH GAMES—FRIENDLY GAMES/commonwealth games & political boycot

Commonwealth Games and political boycott
Suresh Kumar Lau
Associate Professor
Department of Physical Education
University of Delhi

The Commonwealth Games, like the Olympic Games have suffered from the effects of world politics. Black African Commonwealth countries have boycotted the games several occasions in protest against other Commonwealth countries having sporting links with South Africa. Between 1930 and 1958, white South Africans won 190 medals (72 gold, 60 silver and 58 bronzes) in the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. The games have suffered from boycotts, especially that of 1986, but these have never been on the scale of those that have affected the Olympics.