The first Non-White South African Table Tennis team participates at the World Championship

On 6 March 1957, the first South African Non-White sporting team participated at the World Table Tennis Board Championship in Stockholm, Sweden. They were Cassim Bassa (team manager), Ashwin Valjee "Papa" Mullah, P.R. Maistry, D. Groenewald and Cassim Meer. Although talented in the game of table tennis, it was not an easy for them to participate in an international competition. According to the New Age newspaper, the team did not get the blessings of the South African government and it would have been almost a mission impossible to get them passports as a team. The teams from 33 countries were divided into four sections and South Africa was competing in the section that included defending World Champions, Japan.   Six years down the line (1963), the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) executive lifts the Football Association of South Africa's (FASA) suspension. FASA announced that it will send an all-White team to the 1966 World Cup and the 1970 World Cup finals. References: Resha R. (1957), 'Sporting History is Made' from New Age, 14 March 1957 (Available at Mayibuye Centre, University of the Western Cape) pg 1. Anon, (n.d.), 'Football in South Africa - timeline' from South African History Online, [Online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 10 February 2011]