Ireland–South Africa relations as premature. The Irish embassy opened in Pretoria in 1994. From the early 1960s Ireland vehemently opposed apartheid in South Africa. South African Nelson Mandela, then a dissident, later president, was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1988 while a political prisoner; he collected the award upon his release in 1990. Diplomatic ties between the two countries were established in 1994. In November 2003, Brian Cowen, while touring Africa as Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, promised South African President Thabo Mbeki that Ireland would highlight African problems when it ascended to the Council Presidency of the European
Women's tennis in South Africa peers. Women's tennis was being played in South Africa by 1928, when a women's tennis team from Australia visited the country. In 1963, South Africa began competing in the Fed Cup (Federation Cup) when the competition was inaugurated. The country was banned from playing in 1971, but this ban was lifted in 1972, and the International Tennis Federation moved South Africa to the Latin American region to avoid regional conflicts over its participation. South Africa won the event in 1972, when it was held in Johannesburg. However, later that year, the country was banned from competing. This ban remained in