Now famous since the 2010 World Cup began, the South African soccer team is affectionately known as “Bufana Bufana,” which translates to “The Boys.” Hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup has put South African football back in the spotlight, however, as with the rest of South African history, things have not been easy. South African football was banned from FIFA (international football) due to the apartheid system in the country, only returning to the world stage in 1992 after a change in government policy regarding race.
South Africa found soccer through British soldiers playing the game in the 19th century. From the earliest days of football in South Africa until the end of Apartheid, the South African national leagues were under the “White South African Football Association” with separate authorities and leagues for different colors and creeds. Along with Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, South Africa founded the African Football Confederation. However, when it became clear that the South African constitution conflicted with FIFA’s anti-apartheid team policy, they were disqualified from the competition after failing to meet the one-year deadline to comply with FIFA’s policy. England’s Sir Stanley Rous (FA president and later FIFA president) addressed a short invitation to world football to South Africa, as he believed that football itself was suffering as a result of the ban and that the sport could disappear. in the country. , possibly to the point of no return as young people grew up without exposure to sports. This brief reintroduction ended when South Africa was again expelled as a result of the Soweto uprising in 1976. A decision made at FIFA’s annual conference held in Tokyo.
In 1991 the apartheid system was coming to an end in South Africa and with it came a new multiracial soccer team that was approved by FIFA. Their first official match was played against Cameroon on July 7, 1992, their first national match in more than two decades. South Africa won the match 1-0 but of course there was a much bigger winner than the outcome of the game.
South Africa qualified for the World Cup Finals in 1998 and 2002, and earned automatic qualification for 2010 as the host nation. Unfortunately for the South Africans, they failed to qualify from the first group stage of any of these three championships. Despite this, they are making a lasting impression on the football world through their vibrant tournament organization (they are the first African nation to host the famous tournament) and the passion of their millions of fans. South Africa’s greatest international success came in 1996 when they won the Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament they hosted again. South African football prepared to host the 2010 World Cup by hosting the 2009 Confederation Games. This time they qualified from their group with a win over New Zealand, a draw against Iraq and a loss to the European champions, Spain. A semi-final loss to world famous Brazil ended South African hopes.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is expected to provide South African football with the platform to recover from its wild years and can thrive for the sake of its football-mad fans.