MTNFootball

Four years after their readmission to the international stage after many years of exile, a Nelson Mandela-inspired South Africa marked their return to the football world with a bang, winning the 1996 African Cup of Nations at home, beating Tunisia 2-0 in the final in Johannesburg, thanks to two goals from Mark Williams. However, unfortunately for the country, (who in 1996 were ranked 16th in the world), its been a steady decline ever since, with their current ranking at 85th.

Following the 1996 continental success, South African finished second in 1998, third in 2000, reached the last eight in 2002, but were then knocked out at the first round stage of the next three tournaments.

Indeed South Africa failed to qualify for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, while only ensuring their place at the 2010 World Cup due to the fact that they will be hosting the tournament.

The national team, Bafana Bafana, have twice participated in the World Cup finals – in 1998 and 2002. On both occasions however, South Africa exited after the first round, with a victory over Slovenia in 2002 their only ever win in the finals.

South Africa’s most notable exports over the years include Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, and Shaun Bartlett, all of whom had success in the English Premiership. Striker and highest goal-scorer (31 international goals to date) Benni McCarthy, currently at Blackburn, has also done well in his time in England, although his most notable achievement is winning the European Champions League while at Porto. Everton star Steven Pienaar is the pick of South Africa’s exports today. Skipper Aaron Mokoena is South Africa’s most capped player (92 caps) and currently plays his football at Portsmouth.

The local league, the Premier Soccer League (Absa Premiership), began in 1996, and is amongst the best on the continent and is fully professional. It comprises 16 teams, with the most successful club being Mamelodi Sundowns with five titles. Sundowns’ Pretoria rivals SuperSport United have however taken the league for the last two seasons. The country’s most supported team, Kaizer Chiefs, have won the title twice since the Premiership’s inception 13 years ago.

FIFA World Rankings

Country	Updated 15 Dec
51 Panama	2
52 South Africa	-4
53 Honduras	3

Africa Rankings

Country	Updated 15 Dec
07 Cameroon	-1
08 South Africa	-4
09 Cape Verde	9

Team Info

Team History