South Africa History

Description

The South African national football team, popularly known as Bafana Bafana or The Boys, is governed by the South African Football Association. The team started playing internationally in 1992 after a long break, as it was banned from international football because of apartheid.

After its comeback in 1992, South Africa has participated in 4 World Cup events and 8 African Cup tournaments. In 2010 South Africa will become the first African country to host the World Cup. As a result of being the host country, South Africa has automatically been qualified for the 2010 World Cup.

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Apartheid in Football

To give an introduction to the history of football in South Africa, it can be broadly said that the sport has been exceedingly affected by the racial segregation. An association called the Football Association of South Africa (FASA) was formed way back in 1892, but it was an all-white association. Meanwhile, the blacks also formed all-black associations such as the South African Indian Football Association (SAIFA), South African Bantu Football Association (SABFA), and the South African Coloured Football Association (SACFA) in the early 20th century.

The South African constitution forbid racially mixed teams participating in any sport, which meant that an all-black or an all-white team only could participate in the 1957 African Cup of Nations. This regulation was objected by some of the members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and thus South Africa was disqualified from the tournament. In the subsequent CAF conference in 1958 South Africa was formally expelled from the Confederation.

To make matters worse, South Africa was also debarred from FIFA at the annual FIFA conference on 26 September, 1961. At the next FIFA conference in October 1964 the suspension on the South African football team was inflicted once again. The country was formally expelled from FIFA in 1976, following the revolt of the Soweto.

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Post Apartheid and Records

South African football saw light with the annihilation of the apartheid system in 1991. The new multiracial South African Football Association came in to existence on 8 December, 1991 with the amalgamation of FASA, SAIFA, SABFA and SACFA. The South African Football Association aims to build up the sport in the country through infrastructural development and training initiatives. It also intends to forge mutually beneficial relationships with corporates, besides hosting major football events in the country. The national football team played its first international match on 7 July, 1992 against Cameroon and recorded a 1-0 victory. South Africa also hosted and won the African Nations Cup in 1996.

South Africa’s major win in its football history was recorded on 17 September, 1955 when the country defeated Australia 8-0. Similarly, its biggest defeats have been 1-5 loss to Australia in June 1947, 0-4 loss to Mexico in October 1993, 0-4 loss to USA in June 2000, and 0-4 loss to Nigeria in January 2004.

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Tournament Records

South Africa’s performance in the World Cup has been as follows:

•    1930-1962 – Did not enter
•    1966-1990 – Expelled from FIFA because of apartheid
•    1994 – Did not qualify
•    1998 – Played till the second round
•    2002 – Played till the second round
•    2006 – Did not qualify
•    2010 – Host nation; hence automatically qualified

South Africa’s record in the African Nations Cup:

•    1957 – Disqualified because of apartheid
•    1959-1992 – Expelled from CAF
•    1994 – Did not qualify
•    1996 – Winner of the Championship
•    1998 – Finished in second place
•    2000 – Finished in third place
•    2002 – Played till the semifinals
•    2004 – Played till the second round
•    2006 – Played till the second round
•    2008 - Qualified

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