South Africa national football team

South Africa
Nickname(s) Bafana Bafana
(The Boys or Go Boys Go Boys)
Association South African
Football Association
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation COSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coach Stuart Baxter
Captain Thulani Hlatshwayo
Most caps Aaron Mokoena (107)
Top scorer Benni McCarthy (32)
Home stadium FNB Stadium
FIFA code RSA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 64 Increase 1 (6 July 2017)
Highest 16 (August 1996)
Lowest 124 (December 1992)
Elo ranking
Current 61 Steady (7 May 2017)
Highest 21 (9) (September 1996 (October 1955)[1])
Lowest 94 (May 2006)
First international
South Africa South Africa 2–1 Ireland 
(Belfast, Northern Ireland; 24 September 1924)[2][3]
Biggest win
South Africa South Africa 8–0 Australia 
(Adelaide, Australia; 17 September 1955)[4]
Biggest defeat
 Brazil 5–0 South Africa South Africa
(Johannesburg, South Africa; 5 March 2014)
World Cup
Appearances 3 (first in 1998)
Best result Group stage, 1998, 2002 and 2010
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 8 (first in 1996)
Best result Champions, 1996
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances 1 (first in 2005)
Best result Quarter-finals, 2005
African Nations Championship
Appearances 1 (first in 2014)
Best result Group stage, 2014
Confederations Cup
Appearances 2 (first in 1997)
Best result Fourth place, 2009

The South Africa men's national football team represents the Republic of South Africa in association football and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. South Africa's home ground is FNB Stadium, so named due to a naming rights deal, in Johannesburg. The team is currently under in charge of Stuart Baxter, who was appointed as coach on 5 April 2017. The team's greatest achievement was winning the Africa Cup of Nations at home in 1996.

Having played their first match in 1924, they returned to the world stage in 1992, after 16 years of being banned from FIFA due to the apartheid system. In 2010, South Africa became the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup when it hosted the 19th FIFA World Cup in 2010. The team's Siphiwe Tshabalala was also the first player to score in this World Cup during the opening game against Mexico. Despite defeating France 2–1 in their final game of the Group Stage, they failed to progress from the first round of the tournament, becoming the first host nation in the history of the FIFA World Cup to exit in the group stage.[5]

History

Pre-1992

Football first arrived in South Africa through colonialism in the late nineteenth century, as the game was popular among British soldiers.[6] From the earliest days of the sport in South Africa until the end of apartheid, organised football was affected by the country's system of racial segregation. The all-white Football Association of South Africa (FASA), was formed in 1892, while the South African Indian Football Association (SAIFA), the South African Bantu Football Association (SABFA) and the South African Coloured Football Association (SACFA) were founded in 1903, 1933 and 1936 respectively.

South Africa was one of four African nations to attend FIFA's 1953 congress, at which the four demanded, and won, representation on the FIFA executive committee.[7] Thus the four nations (South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan) founded the Confederation of African Football in 1956,[7] and the South African representative, Fred Fell, sat at the first meeting as a founding member. It soon became clear however that South Africa's constitution prohibited racially mixed teams from competitive sport and so they could only send either an all-black side or an all-white side to the planned 1957 African Cup of Nations. This was unacceptable to the other members of the Confederation and South Africa were disqualified from the competition, however some sources say that they withdrew voluntarily.

At the second CAF conference in 1958 South Africa were formally expelled from CAF. The all-white (FASA) were admitted to FIFA in the same year, but in August 1960 it was given an ultimatum of one year to fall in line with the non-discriminatory regulations of FIFA. On 26 September 1961 at the annual FIFA conference, the South African association was formally suspended from FIFA. Sir Stanley Rous, president of The Football Association of England and a champion of South Africa's FIFA membership, was elected FIFA President a few days later. Rous was adamant that sport, and FIFA in particular, should not embroil itself in political matters and against fierce opposition he continued to resist attempts to expel South Africa from FIFA. The suspension was lifted in January 1963 after a visit to South Africa by Rous in order to investigate the state of football in the country.

Rous declared that if the suspension were not lifted, football there would be discontinued, possibly to the point of no recovery. The next annual conference of FIFA in October 1964 took place in Tokyo and was attended by a larger contingent of representatives from African and Asian associations and here the suspension of South Africa's membership was re-imposed. In 1976, after the Soweto uprising, they were formally expelled from FIFA.

In 1991, when the apartheid system was beginning to be demolished, a new multi-racial South African Football Association was formed, and admitted to FIFA – and thus finally allowing South Africa to enter the qualifying stages for subsequent World Cups.[8]

1992–1994: Readmission

After spending nearly two decades in international isolation, the South African national team played its first game on 7 July 1992, beating Cameroon 1–0 at Kings Park in Durban.

The team entered the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and was placed in Group 5, along with Mauritius, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They won one game, away to Mauritius, and drew with Mauritius and Zimbabwe at home. The team finished third in the group and failed to qualify.

For the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers South Africa was placed in Group D, along with Congo, Libya and Nigeria. Libya withdrew from the qualifiers. South Africa beat Congo home and away. They drew with Nigeria at home and lost away. South Africa finished second in the group, and failed to qualify for the next stage of the qualifiers.

1996–1998: Rise

In 1996, a mere 5 years after readmission, South Africa achieved their finest moment when they hosted (and won) the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, in the process reaching the lofty heights of 16th in the FIFA rankings. The shock firing of Cup of Nations winning coach Clive Barker did little to slow momentum as they followed their 1996 success with a second-placed finish at the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations under Jomo Sono and earned their first appearance at the FIFA World Cup, qualifying for France '98. Under head coach Philippe Troussier, South Africa suffered a heavy 3–0 defeat to hosts France in their World Cup debut, but played credibly against other group opponents Denmark and Asian juggernaughts Saudi Arabia, earning 1–1 and 2–2 draws respectively on their way to an early exit.

2000–2002: Peak and coaching instability

Following their successful 1996 and 1998 Africa Cup of Nations' campaigns and their World Cup debut in 1998, South Africa were seen as a growing power on the continent. Under the coaching of the newly hired Trott Moloto they would start the decade off strongly, finishing third in the 2000 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, but as was increasingly symptomatic of football in South Africa at the national level, yet another coaching change was made. Portuguese Carlos Queiroz was hired as the man to take South Africa to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. South Africa qualified for the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations and were eliminated in the quarter-finals against hosts Mali. In the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, for which South Africa had easily qualified for as winners of Group E, Carlos Quieroz left his post as head coach amid increasing behind-the-scenes political wrangling.

Former legend Jomo Sono was brought back in a caretaker capacity to lead South Africa in Korea/Japan. Placed in Group B along with Spain, Paraguay and debutants Slovenia at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, South Africa had high hopes of progressing to the knockout phase of the tournament. After earning a 2–2 draw against Paraguay in their opening game with a last-gasp penalty from Quinton Fortune and following it up with their first every victory at the finals with a 1–0 win over Slovenia, South Africa headed into their final game against Spain second in the group and 3 points clear of Paraguay and Slovenia. In arguably the game of the group, in which 5 goals were scored inside the hour, South Africa twice came from a goal down in an agonising 3–2 defeat to the Spanish. In the other game, which kicked-off at the same time as the South Africa-Spain game, Paraguay found themselves beating Slovenia 2–1 but the result was not enough for Paraguay to surpass South Africa in the standings as South Africa's goal difference of zero was superior to Paraguay's minus one. But South African hearts would be broken. With 84 minutes gone in the Slovenia-Paraguay game Nelson Cuevas bagged a vital third goal for Paraguay, giving Paraguay a 3–1 victory over Slovenia. The win left both Paraguay and South Africa level on 4 points with the late Cuevas strike against Slovenia lifting Paraguay's goal difference to zero, level with South Africa's. The deciding factor moved onto a third tiebreaker; goals scored, and as Paraguay had scored six goals to South Africa's five, they progressed to the Round of 16 at the expense of South Africa. What made the early exit all the more heartbreaking was that South Africa was the only team in the group that managed to hold its own against run away group winners Spain, as both Slovenia and Paraguay were comfortably cast aside 3–1 by the Spanish.

This era (1996–2002) of rising football prowess saw South Africa blessed with fine footballers such as record-setting goalscorers Benni McCarthy & Shaun Bartlett, defensive hardmen and inspirational captains Lucas Radebe & Neil Tovey, creative maestros John Moshoeu & Doctor Khumalo and defensive stalwart Mark Fish.

2002–2006: Decline and coaching roundabout

In the period following the 2002 World Cup and leading up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, South Africa would go through 4 head coaches; Ephraim Mashaba (2002–2004), April Phumo (2004). Stuart Baxter (2004–2005), Ted Dumitru (2005–2006) and caretaker Pitso Mosimane (2006). Neither coach was able to match the successes seen in the period 1996–2002 as South Africa failed to progress beyond the group stages in either of the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations or 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, failing to register a single goal in the latter. Above all though, South Africa failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After being placed in Group 2 for qualifying, South Africa were beaten to Germany by Ghana. Following poor performances in both the 2004 and 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, rumours circulated that SAFA had been attempting to attract a high-profile international manager to coach Bafana Bafana and that former England boss Sven-Göran Eriksson had been targeted. This rumour however has been denied.

2007–2010: Hosting the World Cup

South Africa vs Uruguay at the 2010 FIFA World Cup

By failing to register a single goal at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations and by missing out on Germany 2006, local supporters had become increasingly unhappy with the decline in performance of the national team. In light of these poor performances it was decided that the hiring of a more experienced manager was essential. Former World Cup-winner and Brazilian national team coach Carlos Alberto Parreira was approached for the job and he accepted. He signed a R100 million contract covering four years. His term as manager started 1 January 2007 targeting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which South Africa had been awarded the right to host, becoming the first African nation to ever host world football's showpiece.

Under Parreira, with his rich history of success at the international level, South Africa was expected to improve, but early signs were not good as they would exit the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations at the first hurdle once again. To make matters worse, Parreira stood down as coach in April 2008 due to family reasons. Joel Santana was hand-picked by Parreira to succeed him and he was signed to coach the team until 2010.[9] Under Santana South Africa would slide into its darkest period in international football since readmission. Failing to even qualify for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations with football characterised by a complete lack of creativity and little goal-scoring threat, South Africa tumbled down the FIFA rankings and was at one point not even ranked among Africa's top-10 nations. Santana was fired in 2009 and Parreira would return in time for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup – also hosted by South Africa – and South Africa would see an improvement in performance, holding its own against eventual world champions Spain and perennial powerhouse Brazil, the latter requiring an 88th-minute goal to overcome South Africa in the semi-finals. South Africa would ultimately finish 4th, following a thrilling 3–2 loss to the Spanish in the 3rd/4th Place Playoff.

A string of victories, albeit against marginal opposition, in the run up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup seemed to instill a sense of confidence in the team as well as the nation. For the 2010 World Cup, the first in Africa, South Africa was placed in Group A, along with Mexico, surprise package and eventual semi-finalists Uruguay and former world champions France. South Africa played the first game, which opened the World Cup 2010 Football tournament with a 1–1 draw against Mexico after taking the lead through a wonderful long-range Siphiwe Tshabalala strike. Katlego Mphela would hit the post late into the game as South Africa, buoyed by a frenzied home crowd, so very nearly opened the tournament with a win. A heavy 3–0 defeat in the second group game against Uruguay and a Mexican win over France left South Africa with a mountain to climb in order to progress beyond the group stage. For the deciding match against France, Parreira would discard his previous tactics of a defensive-minded five-man midfield and a lone forward in favour of a more attacking formation utilising two forwards, as up until the France game South Africa had focused more on not losing than they did on trying to win, but the heavy defeat against Uruguay coupled with Mexico's victory over France had now left them with a goal difference of negative three that needed to be overcome in order for them to progress. South Africa would also require a favour from Uruguay, needing the Uruguayans to inflict a sizeable defeat on Mexico to aid their chances of progress. The change in tactics worked as South Africa gained the upper-hand over the French, attacking at will. At the half South Africa had a 2–0 lead thanks to goals from Bongani Khumalo & Katlego Mphela while Uruguay were beating Mexico 1–0 in the other group game. As it stood, South Africa needed at least one more goal against France while Uruguay needed to double their lead against Mexico. Sadly, it was not to be as while South Africa did secure an historic victory over France, they failed to score again and conceded a late goal for a 2–1 victory while the Uruguayans had failed to add to their lead, as they ran out 1–0 victors over Mexico. For the second World Cup in a row South Africa finished level on points with second place but were eliminated, this time on goal difference while it had been on goals scored in 2002. Elimination in the group stage made South Africa the first hosts to fail to progress beyond the first round of a World Cup.

South Africa-France Starting Lineups 2010-06-22
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Uruguay 321040+47
 Mexico 311132+14
 South Africa 311135−24
 France 301214−31

Following the conclusion of the World Cup and the expiration of his contract, Carlos Alberto Parreira announced his retirement from coaching. As part of his contract, Parreira had also drawn up a plan of recommendations extending as far as football development at grass-roots level that SAFA was encouraged to review in the hopes of reviving the fortunes of the national football team. Pitso Mosimane, who had been Parreira's assistant, was selected as the new head coach with Parreira's blessings.

2012–2014: Continued struggles

South Africa failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals after the rules were misread.[10] They ultimately played for and achieved a draw at home in Nelspruit against Sierra Leone in a game they needed to win, when news about Niger trailing in Egypt was received, leading to the qualification of Niger at their and also Sierra Leone expense. They then celebrated at the end as if they had qualified making it the second time they will be so embarrassed in 4 years after qualifying as a lucky 3rd and last best runners-up for the 2008 edition with Zambia catapulting over South Africa as Group winners after a 3–1 win in Cape Town – and thereby gaining an automatic qualifying ticket on head to head record with the South Africans erroneously thinking goal difference will be the primary tie-breaker.[11]

The SABC also announced that the team had qualified and the SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani then congratulated the team on TV before realisation dawned.[12] SAFA said they would appeal to CAF but the appeal was later withdrawn.[13][14]

South Africa continued to disappoint into 2012, opening the year with a lacklustre 0–0 draw away to 2012 Africa Cup of Nations co-hosts Equatorial Guinea. This would be the start of a run that would see Bafana Bafana rack up 6 successive draws to start the year. The run of draws included 1–1, 0–0 and 1–1 draws at home to African champions Zambia, Ghana and Senegal respectively in International Friendlies. Following a 1–1 draw at home to Ethiopia in a 2014 World Cup qualifier, head coach Pitso Mosimane was fired.[15] The draw increased South Africa's streak to 7 games without a win. Mosimane was replaced as head coach by Steve Komphela on an interim basis while SAFA interviews potential candidates to fill the post on a permanent basis.

In his first game in-charge as interim head coach, Komphela oversaw yet another uninspired performance in South Africa's second World Cup qualifier against Botswana as they drew yet again, extending their winless run to 8 games. Bafana Bafana finally tasted victory when they defeated Gabon 3–0 at home in a friendly, ending their winless streak.

Komphela, along with Gordon Igesund, Gavin Hunt, Neil Tovey and Ephraim Shakes Mashaba had been shortlisted as one of the candidates to be the next head coach of South Africa,[16] with Komphela and Igesund emerging as the front-runners in recent weeks.[17] On 30 June 2012, Gordon Igesund was appointed as the new head coach.[18]

Following the crisis in Libya throughout 2011, CAF made the decision to move the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations from Libya – who were the original hosts – to South Africa on the grounds of safety and security. Libya was then given the right to host the 2017 edition of the tournament, which was originally awarded to South Africa.[19] As hosts of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa will automatically qualify for the competition.

South Africa, as hosts, were seeded and drawn in Group A along with Angola, Morocco and tournament debutants Cape Verde.[20]

South Africa kicked the tournament off on 19 January against debutants Cape Verde at a wet National Stadium. South Africa made use of a defensive formation as coach Gordon Igesund deployed two deep midfielders in Kagisho Dikgacoi and Reneilwe Letsholonyane and along with the poor weather conditions delivered an unispired performance resulting in a 0–0 draw. In the hosts second group game against Angola, coach Igesund dropped his midfield pairing of Dikgacoi and Letsholonyane and opted for a new midfield pairing of the defensive minded Dean Furman and the more attacking May Mahlangu. The result was a far more confident display as Dean Furman took control of the midfield – something that was lacking in the first game – and delivered a man of the match performance. South Africa ran out winners with goals from Siyabonga Sangweni and Lehlohonolo Majoro setting up a 2–0 victory. Heading into the final group game against Morocco South Africa only had to avoid defeat in order to progress to the knocout stages while Morocco needed a win to progress. South Africa put in a woeful first half performance that saw them 1–0 down at half time and struggling with the Moroccans direct approach. It was only thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, who pulled of a string of stunning saves, that South Africa were not further behind. An improved second half saw South Africa fight back with an equaliser from May Mahlangu but South Africa continued to look vulnerable against Morocco's direct approach and subsequently fell behind again in the 81st minute. But typical of their improved tenacity in the second half South Africa swiftly responded through a Siyabonga Sangweni equaliser in the 86th minute. South Africa hung on to the draw, with the result enough to see them win group A and progress to the quarterfinals. Sangweni's late equaliser would prove vital as an injury time winner by Cape Verde in their final game against Angola would have seen Morocco and Cape Verde progress at the expense of South Africa, but as it was South Africa went through along with Cape Verde, who enjoyed a stunning debut in Africa's showpiece tournament.

South Africa were drawn against Group B runners-up Mali in the quarterfinals. South Africa delivered a stunning first half performance, playing at a high tempo to negate the Malian's superior physical presence. Unable to keep up with the pace of the game, Mali were overwhelmed as South Africa carved out chance after chance, finally making the breakthrough in the 31st minute as Thuso Phala drove into the box and fired a low cross across the goalmouth which an open Tokelo Rantie pounced on. South Africa headed into the break 1–0 up. However, in the second half, led by veteran midfielder and captain Seydou Keita, the Malians began to impose themselves and equalised in the 58th minute amid a momentary defensive collapse as the South African defense allowed captain Keita to head home an unchallenged cross. From that point on it was Mali that controlled the game. Neither side was able to secure a winner and the game headed into extra time. After another goalless 30 minutes the game moved to penalties. Siphiwe Tshabalala took the first penalty and gave South Africa the lead with a stunnigly placed shot into the top left corner. Cheick Diabaté would swiftly respond. Then South Africa's tournament proceeded to unravel. Dean Furman was next up for South Africa but he saw his weak shot easily saved by goalkeeper Soumbeïla Diakité. Adama Tamboura would score Mali's second penalty handing them the advantage. In an almost carbon copy of Furman's penalty May Mahlangu's penalty was also easily saved low to the left by goalkeeper Diakité. Mahamane Traoré confidently dispatched Mali's third penalty, handing them a comfortable 3–1 cushion. Lehlohonolo Majoro was next up for South Africa but the pressure was too much as he fired a wild shot high and to the right of the goal. With the miss South Africa were eliminated from the tournament 3–1 on penalties.

After a poor 2012 in which South Africa had performed poorly and had steadily slid down FIFA's rankings, their performance in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations was a marked improvement. Although coach Gordon Igesund had been handed the almost impossible task of a semifinal berth as a target in his contract, SAFA came out and said the signs of improvement were sufficient enough for Igesund's job to remain safe.

South Africa received a First Round bye when the qualifying process for the 2014 FIFA World Cup got underway on 30 July 2011. For the Second Round of the qualifying process, South Africa was placed in Pot 1 as a top-seeded nation for the draw from where they were drawn into Group A, along with neighbours Botswana, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia. South Africa opened their qualifying campaign with a dismal performance, struggling to overcome a one-goal deficit in a 1–1 home draw with Ethiopia, a nation ranked nearly 70 places below them. This result, coupled with the less than inspiring string of results that had seen South Africa winless in the past 6 outings that preceded it, resulted in the sacking of head coach Pitso Mosimane. Under interim head coach Steve Khompela, South Africa played out to yet another uninspiring 1–1 draw, this time away to Botswana. On 30 June 2012, Gordon Igesund was appointed as the new head coach.[18]

Following on from a positive display in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Gordon Igesund guided South Africa to their first victory in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers as they beat the Central African Republic 2–0 in Cape Town. South Africa continued their push for a place at the World Cup with a 3–0 win over the Central African Republic on 8 June. South Africa endured a difficult build-up to the game as they were only able to practice once before the game due to a delayed connecting flight, but they performed admirably against their physical opponents on a bumpy pitch. The win was South Africa's first away win in a World Cup qualifier since 2005. Ethiopia also won their match away to Botswana on the same day, maintaining their 2-point lead over South Africa.

South Africa and Ethiopia met in a potential group decider in Addis Ababa on 16 June, with the Ethiopians going undefeated at home in 12-games. South Africa were under pressure from the kick-off and as early as the 3rd-minute goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was forced into a stunning save. South Africa would recover to take a 1–0 lead through a stunning left-footed half volley from Bernard Parker in the 33rd minute. The lead was short lived as Ethiopia equalised in the 44th minute following a defensive lapse by South Africa when they failed to deal with a loose ball on the edge of the box. Ethiopia would secure the win thanks to a stunning own goal by Bernard Parker in the 70th minute as he headed the ball into his own net from a free kick. The 2–1 defeat ended South Africa's qualification hopes and assured Ethiopia passage to the third and final round of qualifying. However, following the match it emerged that Ethiopia were under investigation for fielding an inelligble player during their 2–1 win over Botswana and that they could face losing the 3-points and have the result reversed to a 3–0 defeat, as in line with FIFA sanctions. This would give South Africa an outside chance of qualifying for Brazil. Ethiopia later admitted to the error.[21] On Tuesday, 19 June, it was reported in the South African press that Ethiopia had again fielded the same player against South Africa with the player still to serve his one-match ban and it may be possible that Ethiopia could face losing another 3-points to South Africa. Should this happen, South Africa would then qualify for the next round at the expense of Ethiopia.[22]

South Africa failed to qualify. These were the final standings:

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Ethiopia 6 4 1 1 8 6 +213
 South Africa 6 3 2 1 12 5 +711
 Botswana 6 2 1 3 8 10 −27
 Central African Republic 6 1 0 5 5 12 −73
  Botswana Central African Republic Ethiopia South Africa
Botswana  — 3–2 3–0* 1–1
Central African Republic  2–0 — 1–2 0–3
Ethiopia  1–0 2–0 — 2–1
South Africa  4–1 2–0 1–1 —

2014–2016: Mashaba era

South Africa's first match under new coach, Ephraim Mashaba was a Group A qualifying match for AFCON 2015, played at Al-Merrikh Stadium against Sudan on 5 September 2014. South Africa won the match 3–0 with two goals from Sibusiso Vilakazi in the 55th and 61st minutes and a goal from Bongani Ndulula in the 78th minute.[23] South Africa's second match in the AFCON qualifyers was a home match at Cape Town Stadium against Nigeria on 10 September. South Africa held off the defending AFCON champions for a 0 – 0 draw.[24] Following these two matches, Bafana Bafana moved up two places to 67th in the FIFA world ranking.[25]

South Africa then took on Congo at the Stade Municipal de Pointe-Noire on 11 October. The game was won 2–0 with goals from Bongani Ndulula and Tokelo Rantie in the second half. This victory brought South Africa to the top of Group A.[26] Next was the return match in Polokwane's Peter Mokaba Stadium. The game ended in a 0–0 stalemate which kept South Africa at the top of the group.[27] Following these two matches, South Africa climbed 10 places in the FIFA rankings to no.57.[28]

Next up was the second match against Sudan on 15 November which was won 2–1 with goals from Thulani Serero 37th minute and Tokelo Rantie 54th minute. The game was originally scheduled to be played at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, but it was moved to the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in honour of captain and goalkeeper, Senzo Meyiwa who was shot and killed two weeks prior to the game. Coach Ephraim Mashaba said the win was for the fallen hero, who had not conceded a goal in the four qualifiers he had played. The result sealed qualification for South Africa, with an away game versus Nigeria to spare. It was the first time since 2008 that Bafana managed to qualify for the tournament ( in 2013 they qualified as hosts after Libya exchanged their rights for security reasons).[29][30]

The last game of the qualifiers was on 19 November at the Akwa Ibom Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria. it ended 2–2, therefore eliminating Nigeria and denying them the chance to defend their crown at 2015 AFCON. The coach Ephraim Mashaba had earlier said South Africa will not do Nigeria any favours. It showed in the way that the South Africans approached the match. Tokelo Rantie missed a sitter in the fourth minute when he fluffed his chance over the bar. but he made amends when he opened the scoring in the 42nd minute after a neat pass from Dean Furman. It looked as if South Africa would get their first competitive win over Nigeria when Rantie doubled his and his country's tally in the 48th minute. But it wasn't to be as they failed to hold on for a historic win. Nigeria came back to draw 2–2 but it wasn't enough to secure Nigeria's qualification as Congo beat Sudan 1–0 to book their place at the tournament.

Under Mashaba, South Africa failed to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. This, in addition to the various controversies, disparaging remarks that Mashaba allegedly made about SAFA top officials, his supposedly arrogant nature and his ill treatment of overseas based stars, led to his suspension after leading South Africa to a 2-1 victory over Senegal in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.


Team image

Nickname

"Bafana Bafana" is a nickname given to the national side by its fans. It is Zulu and translates literally as "the boys, the boys". Its actual meaning in Zulu is, "Go boys! Go boys!", though others take the double use of "Bafana" to mean "all of the boys"---the team and management, as well as the spectators; togetherness, as in the African concept of ubuntu.

In July 1992, at Kings Park stadium in Durban, fans shouted "Bafana bafana"[GO BOYS GO BOYS] when South Africa was on the verge of beating Cameroon and after the game. A group of three journalists, from South Africa newspaper The Sowetan, then began to use the name in print when referring to the team. The name was used initially used only informally, as SAFA felt that it was not commercially viable, and that it was degrading to refer to a team of men as boys.[31]

Standton Woodrush Ltd applied to trademark the name in 1993. The trademark was granted, but was for clothing only. In 1994, the team's technical sponsor at the time, Kappa, applied for the trademarks "Bafana" and "Bafana Bafana" in class 25. These were granted, and subsequently passed on to SAFA. In 1997, SAFA filed for the trademark "Bafana Bafana" for all goods and services, in all classes.

SAFA then applied to have Standton Woodrush Ltd removed from the trade marks register, on the grounds that SAFA was the rightful owner of the name. The case was dismissed on the ground that SAFA was not an interested person within the meaning of this term as used in the Trade Marks Act No. 94 of 1993, which provides that only an interested party has legal standing to seek relief.

SAFA made another application to gain ownership of the trade mark, with the second application going to the Appeal Court. The court again found that SAFA did not have the necessary grounds for ownership of the name in all classes. The court held that an intention to use a mark does not create a preference to registration, and that the proprietor of a trade mark need not be its originator.

In 2011 SAFA paid R5 million to Standton Woodrush Ltd for rights to the name "Bafana Bafana", in class 25 and all other classes.[32]

Home stadium

First game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa vs Mexico at Soccer City.

The South Africa national football team does not use a single stadium as its home stadium for matches. Instead, they use a variety of stadiums throughout South Africa to host matches at.

The largest venue used is the 94,700-seater Soccer City in Soweto, outside Johannesburg. Other often used venues include the Atteridgeville Super Stadium, outside Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, outside Rustenburg, the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein and Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

Matches have also been hosted at Ellis Park and Johannesburg Stadium in Johannesburg, Kings Park in Durban, Olympia Park in Rustenburg, Cape Town Stadium and Newlands Stadium in Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and the EPRU Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Griqua Park in Kimberley, Jan Smuts Stadium and Buffalo City Stadium in East London, Odi Stadium in Mabopane, Mmabatho Stadium in Mafikeng, Atlantic Stadium in Witbank and Olen Park in Potchefstroom.

The team has also hosted matches outside of South Africa. In preparation for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the team hosted a friendly in Baiersbronn, Germany. As a warm-up for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the team hosted a friendly at Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong. In 2006 the team hosted a Nelson Mandela Challenge match at Griffin Park, in London, England. During their preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the team hosted two matches in Germany. The matches were played at the BRITA-Arena in Wiesbaden and the Stadion am Bieberer Berg in Offenbach am Main.

Media coverage

The South African Football Association owns the rights to national team matches played in South Africa. SAFA currently have a contract with the South African Broadcasting Corporation, to broadcast these matches. It is up to the SABC to procure the rights to matches played outside of the country.

The SABC usually shows most national team games, though they have often had problems with broadcasting weekday matches. They have previously used delayed live footage,[33] and sometimes not shown matches.[34]

Most large tournaments in which the team play, such as the FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations, have separate broadcast rights.Supersport purchase the pay TV rights to these tournaments, thus during these tournaments, they also show South African matches. The SABC usually holds the free to air rights to these tournaments, with the notable exception being the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Those matches were shown by e.tv.[35]

Sponsors

When the team returned to international football in 1992, their kit was supplied by Italian clothing company, Kappa. The team wore Kappa kits up to and during the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[36]

Following the 1998 World Cup, the kits for all South African national football teams were supplied by German sports apparel company Adidas. The sponsorship deal is believed to be worth R14 million per year.[37] Their contract with the South African Football Association ran until the end of 2010.

On 7 June 2011, SAFA announced Puma as its new technical sponsor and unveiled Bafana Bafana's new kit.[38][39]

In October 2013, ABSA announced its resignation as a sponsor of SAFA and the South African national team as of the end of their contract in December 2013. This was followed a week later by the announcement from Puma, that they too would step down as technical sponsors of Bafana Bafana.[40]

Since March 2014, the official kit provider is American sporting apparel company Nike from the international friendly match against Brazil.

The team now has one main sponsor, Castle Lager, a brand owned by South African Breweries. Smaller sponsors and suppliers include Energade and Tsogo Sun Hotels [41]

Kit provider Period
Italy Kappa 1992–1998
Germany Adidas 1998–2010
Germany Puma 2011–2013
United States Nike 2014–present

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Coach Scotland Stuart Baxter
Team Doctor South Africa Thulani Ngwenya
Assistant Coach South Africa Quinton Fortune
Assistant Coach South Africa Thabo Senong
Technical Director South Africa Neil Tovey
Goalkeeper Coach Argentina Alex Heredia
Fitness Trainer Scotland Joshua Smith
Team Manager South Africa Kabelo Rangoaga
Physiologist South Africa Sizwe Gqoongqo
Physiotherapist South Africa Nhlanhla Maphanga

Source:

Coaches since 1992

  • ^1 Caretaker coach during 1998 African Cup of Nations
  • ^2 Caretaker coach for one match
  • ^3 Caretaker coach for one match
  • ^4 Caretaker coach during 2002 FIFA World Cup
  • ^5 Caretaker coach for one match
  • ^6 Caretaker coach for seven matches
  • ^7 Caretaker coach for two matches

Players

Current squad

The following 25 players were called up for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Nigeria on June 10, 2017. [42]
Caps and goals updated as of 13 June 2017 after the game against Zambia.[43]

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Itumeleng Khune (1987-06-20) 20 June 1987 83 0 South Africa Kaizer Chiefs
1GK Darren Keet (1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 7 0 South Africa Bidvest Wits
1GK Ronwen Williams (1992-01-21) 21 January 1992 3 0 South Africa SuperSport United
2DF Eric Mathoho (1990-03-01) 1 March 1990 33 1 South Africa Kaizer Chiefs
2DF Thulani Hlatshwayo (1989-12-18) 18 December 1989 31 3 South Africa Bidvest Wits
2DF Rivaldo Coetzee (1996-10-16) 16 October 1996 24 0 South Africa Ajax Cape Town
2DF Tebogo Langerman (1986-05-06) 6 May 1986 9 0 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
2DF Ramahlwe Mphahlele (1990-02-01) 1 February 1990 9 0 South Africa Kaizer Chiefs
2DF Abbubaker Mobara (1994-02-18) 18 February 1994 8 0 South Africa Orlando Pirates
2DF Sifiso Hlanti (1990-05-01) 1 May 1990 3 0 South Africa Bidvest Wits
2DF Lorenzo Gordinho (1994-04-26) 26 April 1994 1 0 South Africa Kaizer Chiefs
3MF Andile Jali (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990 43 4 Belgium Oostende
3MF Dean Furman (1988-06-22) 22 June 1988 40 3 South Africa SuperSport United
3MF Hlompho Kekana (1985-05-23) 23 May 1985 22 5 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
3MF Bongani Zungu (1992-10-09) 9 October 1992 20 2 Portugal Vitória de Guimarães
3MF Keagan Dolly (1993-01-22) 22 January 1993 9 2 France Montpellier
3MF Themba Zwane (1989-08-03) 3 August 1989 9 0 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
3MF Lebogang Phiri (1994-11-09) 9 November 1994 5 1 France Guingamp
3MF Aubrey Ngoma (1989-09-16) 16 September 1989 10 0 South Africa Cape Town City F.C.
4FW Tokelo Rantie (1990-09-08) 8 September 1990 39 12 Turkey Gençlerbirliği
4FW Sibusiso Vilakazi (1989-12-29) 29 December 1989 26 4 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
4FW Thamsanqa Gabuza (1987-07-27) 27 July 1987 16 6 South Africa Orlando Pirates
4FW Kermit Erasmus (1990-07-08) 8 July 1990 14 2 France Lens
4FW Lebogang Manyama (1990-09-13) 13 September 1990 11 1 South Africa Cape Town City F.C.

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up to a squad in the last 12 months. Caps and goals relate to the time at which the matches were played.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Shu-Aib Walters (1981-12-26) 26 December 1981 0 0 South Africa Cape Town City v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
GK Mogale Lekone (1991-01-12) 12 January 1991 1 0 South Africa Days FC v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
GK Jackson Mabokgwane (1988-01-19) 19 January 1988 11 0 South Africa Orlando Pirates v.  Ghana, 11 October 2016
GK Reyaad Pieterse (1992-02-17) 17 February 1992 3 0 South Africa SuperSport United v.  Egypt, 6 September 2016
DF Diamond Thopola (1990-03-23) 23 March 1990 1 0 South Africa Chippa United v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
DF Thabo Matlaba (1987-12-13) 13 December 1987 29 1 South Africa Orlando Pirates v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
DF Clayton Daniels (1984-07-10) 10 July 1984 9 1 South Africa SuperSport United v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
DF Asavela Mbekile (1986-11-01) 1 November 1986 3 0 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
DF Isaac Nhlapo (1990-01-01) 1 January 1990 1 0 South Africa Platinum Stars v.  Ghana, 11 October 2016
DF Denwin Farmer (1996-09-19) 19 September 1996 0 0 South Africa SuperSport United v.  Egypt, 6 September 2016
MF Kamohelo Mokotjo (1991-03-11) 11 March 1991 7 0 England Brentford v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
MF Thulani Serero (1990-04-11) 11 April 1990 38 2 Netherlands Vitesse v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
MF Tiyani Mabunda (1988-04-17) 17 April 1988 4 0 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
MF Thabo Mnyamane (1992-08-17) 17 August 1992 2 1 South Africa SuperSport United v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
MF Piet Mabitsi (1986-05-04) 4 May 1986 11 2 South Africa Days FC v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
MF Ayanda Patosi (1992-10-31) 31 October 1992 12 3 South Africa Cape Town City v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
MF Daine Klate (1985-02-25) 25 February 1985 15 1 South Africa Bidvest Wits v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
MF May Mahlangu (1989-05-01) 1 May 1989 19 2 Romania Dinamo București v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
MF Oupa Manyisa (1988-07-30) 30 July 1988 27 1 South Africa Orlando Pirates v.  Ghana, 11 October 2016
MF Aubrey Modiba (1995-07-22) 22 July 1995 4 0 South Africa SuperSport United v.  Ghana, 11 October 2016
MF Mandla Masango (1989-07-18) 18 July 1989 26 4 Denmark Randers v.  Egypt, 6 September 2016
MF Thapelo Morena (1993-08-06) 6 August 1993 5 0 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns v.  Egypt, 6 September 2016
MF Deolin Mekoa (1993-08-10) 10 August 1993 4 0 South Africa Maritzburg United v.  Egypt, 6 September 2016
FW Phakamani Mahlambi (1997-09-12) 12 September 1997 1 0 South Africa Bidvest Wits v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
FW Luther Singh (1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 1 0 Portugal Braga v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
FW Lars Veldwijk (1991-08-21) 21 August 1991 1 0 Netherlands Groningen v.  Angola, 28 March 2017
FW Thuso Phala (1986-05-27) 27 May 1986 22 2 South Africa SuperSport United v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
FW Eleazar Rodgers (1985-01-22) 22 January 1985 5 0 South Africa Bidvest Wits v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
FW Bradley Grobler (1988-01-25) 25 January 1988 5 3 South Africa SuperSport United v.  Senegal, 12 November 2016
FW Thobani Mncwango (1987-12-15) 15 December 1987 1 0 South Africa Polokwane City v.  Ghana, 11 October 2016
FW Gift Motupa (1991-01-28) 28 January 1991 8 3 South Africa Orlando Pirates v.  Egypt, 6 September 2016
FW Prince Nxumalo (1990-05-18) 18 May 1990 1 0 South Africa Ajax Cape Town v.  Egypt, 6 September 2016
Notes

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.

Past squads

Results and fixtures

For all past match results of the national team, see the team's results (currently not available).

The following matches were played or are scheduled to be played in the current or upcoming seasons.

2016

2017


Records

Aaron Mokoena became the first, and to date only, South African player to reach 100 caps on 31 May 2010, against Guatemala: to celebrate he wore kit numbered 100.

Players in bold are still active, at least at club level. Updated as of 10 June 2017.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Although South Africa has made three appearances in the World Cup, they have not made it past the first round. The team's first attempt to qualify as for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The team finished second in their group, behind Nigeria, who went on to play at the World Cup. Their first appearance was in France 1998, six years after they had been readmitted to the global football family.

Despite a 3–0 drubbing to France in their opening game, they went on to draw against Denmark and Saudi Arabia, the team finished third and thus exited the tournament. Korea/Japan 2002 was expected to be an opportunity for Bafana Bafana to step up to the next level but they were eliminated at the group stage despite drawing to Paraguay and beating Slovenia 1–0 for their first-ever World Cup win.

The team finished third in their group, losing out to Paraguay on goal difference. The team failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup after finishing third in their qualifying group. Ghana won the group and progressed to the tournament, while Congo DR finished ahead of South Africa on head to head results. During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, they beat France 2–1 and drew 1–1 to Mexico, but lost 0–3 to Uruguay. They lost out on progression to the round of 16, on goal difference, for their second World Cup in a row.

FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 to
Chile 1962		 Did not enter
England 1966 Not admitted[44]
Mexico 1970 to
Italy 1990		 Banned
United States 1994 Did not qualify
France 1998 Group Stage 24th 3 0 2 1 3 6
South Korea Japan 2002 Group Stage 17th 3 1 1 1 5 5
Germany 2006 Did not qualify
South Africa 2010 Group Stage 20th 3 1 1 1 3 5
Brazil 2014 Did not qualify
Russia 2018 To be determined
Total Group Stage 3/22 9 2 4 3 11 16

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Squad
Saudi Arabia 1992 Banned
Saudi Arabia 1995 Did not qualify
Saudi Arabia 1997 Group Stage 8th 3 0 1 2 5 7 Squad
Mexico 1999 Did not qualify
South Korea Japan 2001
France 2003
Germany 2005
South Africa 2009 Fourth Place 4th 5 1 1 3 4 6 Squad
Brazil 2013 Did not qualify
Russia 2017 To be determined
Qatar 2021
Total Fourth Place 2/11 8 1 2 5 9 13 -

Africa Cup of Nations

CAF Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Sudan 1957 Disqualified because of apartheid
United Arab Republic 1959 Banned
Ethiopia 1962
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965
Ethiopia 1968
Sudan 1970
Cameroon 1972
Egypt 1974
Ethiopia 1976
Ghana 1978
Nigeria 1980
Libya 1982
Ivory Coast 1984
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992
Tunisia 1994 Did not qualify
South Africa 1996 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 11 2
Burkina Faso 1998 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 2 1 9 6
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Third Place 3rd 6 3 2 1 8 6
Mali 2002 Quarter Final 4 1 2 1 3 3
Tunisia 2004 Group Stage 3 1 1 1 3 5
Egypt 2006 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 0 5
Ghana 2008 Group Stage 3 0 2 1 3 5
Angola 2010 Did not qualify
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 2012
South Africa 2013 Quarter Final 6 4 1 2 1 5 3
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Group Stage 3 0 1 2 3 6
Gabon 2017 Did not qualify
Total 1 Title 9/31 37 14 12 11 44 40
*Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Head-to-Head records against other countries

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