South Africa national football team

The South Africa national football team, or Bafana Bafana, is the national team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association. It has recently returned to the world stage after years of being suspended and expelled from FIFA.

South Africa was first suspended from FIFA in 1962 for the country's apartheid regime. They were re-admitted a year later, but after deciding to take an all-white team to the 1966 World Cup and an all-black team to the 1970 one, got suspended again in 1964. In 1976, after the Soweto uprising, they got expelled from FIFA.

In 1991, with apartheid no more, the new non-racial South African Football Association was formed. On July 7, 1992, the South African national team played their first game in decades, beating Cameroon 1–0.

Since being re-admitted, South Africa made the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, but failed to get out of the first round each time. They did host and win the 1996 African Nations Cup and will host the 2010 World Cup, the first African nation to do so.

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1962 – Did not enter
• 1966 to 1990 – suspended/expelled from FIFA
• 1994 – Did not qualify
• 1998 – Round 1
• 2002 – Round 1

African Nations Cup record

• 1957 – Disqualified because of apartheid
• 1959 – Did not enter
• 1962 to 1992 – suspended/expelled from FIFA
• 1994 – Did not qualify
• 1996 – Champions
• 1998 – Second place
• 2000 – Third place
• 2002 – Quarterfinals
• 2004 – Round 1

Famous players

• Shaun Bartlett
• Doctor Khumalo
• Benni McCarthy
• Lucas Radebe

External links

• RSSSF archive of results