Gleneagles Agreement

The Gleneagles Agreement (English Gleneagles Agreement) was an agreement that was signed on 15 June 1977 at the Conference of Commonwealth countries in Gleneagles in Scotland. The President and Prime Minister of the Commonwealth countries agreed to support the international campaign against apartheid and to outlaw any sporting contacts with South Africa. These concerns were both individual athletes and teams and organizations.

The agreement was a response to the boycott of the Summer Olympics in 1976 by ​​28 African countries. This had the IOC ultimately prompted New Zealand to be excluded from the Games since their rugby union team had played in South Africa. With the Gleneagles agreement, the signatories reaffirmed their determination to combat racism. This they had already decided in 1971 with the Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles.

Back in 1981, the agreement was undermined, as the New Zealand Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, the South African rugby union team invited to play in New Zealand. Prime Minister Robert Muldoon, who had signed the agreement itself, could grant the lattice, because in his opinion the policy itself should not interfere in the sport. This decision led to violent protests in New Zealand.