Sports Stars, Organisations Lead Tributes to Archbishop Desmond Tutu

• The late former Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu was honoured and praised by South African sports stars and organisations
• The legendary anti-Apartheid stalwart passed away after a prolonged fight with prostate cancer, in Cape Town
• Organisations like Cricket South Africa and the South African Rugby Union thanked him for his contributions to society and sport

Various sports stars and organisations paid tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died on Sunday morning at the age of 90 years old.

From Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to AB de Villiers and Siya Kolisi, the tributes expressed grief at his passing while honouring his contributions to society.

CSA said in a statement:

"CSA sends its condolences to the entire Tutu family, friends, colleagues, the Anglican Church and indeed to the whole of South Africa. Archbishop Tutu departs these shores having made an indelible contribution in the struggle against the unjust and criminal system of apartheid. He dedicated his entire life on the project of healing and reconciliation for our nation, a process he carried through even beyond his Chairmanship of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the 1990s."

Racism, irregular appointments in SJN report land cricket legends in hot water

Cricket

SARU president had nothing but praise for Tutu, saying:

“Archbishop Tutu stood for all that was the best of us as a nation and his fearless freedom fighting was an example to all of us to oppose injustice wherever it occurs – he was our moral compass and always pointed in the principled direction. He was a strong supporter of rugby in South Africa, and I remember very well the pleasure he took from meeting the Springboks on their Rugby World Cup trophy tour in Cape Town in 2019 and how humbled were our players to be greeted by him.”

The day the Proteas celebrated the Arch's birthday with a big win

People and organisations all over the world have shared fond memories of the encounters with Tutu and among these is between him and the South African cricket team.

We have a group that can write their names in history by winning AFCON' - Kurt Okraku

Football

The archbishop was a guest of honour at a ODI match between old foes South Africa and Australia on 3 March, 2006.

The match was dedicated to him in honour of his 75th birthday, with the teams competing for a one-off Strength In Diversity Trophy, named after the Desmond Tutu Diversity Trust.