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Pretoria - Former ANC Youth League deputy president Ronald Lamola says he does not believe in the notion that sport unites people.
"It's a cosmetic exercise because it only brings people together for 90 minutes," he told News24.
"After that, people go back to their realities of poverty and apartheid spatial development... It still does not bring that sustainable unity."
He said sustainable unity could only be achieved through the economy.
There was no willingness to transform sport in the country, especially in rugby and cricket, Lamola said.
"I think it's high time that South African society say we can't continue to support something that does not reflect the demographics of our country.
"That is what should be the stance."
‘All white’ Springbok team
Earlier this week, Cosatu in the Western Cape said it was not encouraged to support the “all white” Springbok team announced to take on the All Blacks on Saturday.
The trade union federation condemned the selections, which sees four black and coloured players in the starting line-up to take to the field at Emirates Airlines Park in Johannesburg.
Lamola said for sport to be transformed, more investment needed to be made at school level.
"We can't continue to have schools in the rural areas that still reflect the apartheid past.
"A school in the rural area must be the same as a school in the city, with all the libraries, technologies, sport facilities and so forth. It is then that we can deal with transformation in many sectors of our sport," he said.
There was even a problem in soccer, which could be seen to be the most transformed, with young black men being exploited.
Lamola claimed that young black soccer players were being exploited by soccer bosses, who themselves were oppressed during apartheid.
"They are exploited by people who were exploited in the past.
"The exploited has become the oppressor, even in soccer. It means our sport in general needs a complete overhaul," he said.
