South Africa

Bafana Bafana carry deep symbolic weight as the team that reunified South African football after apartheid, and as the first African nation to host a World Cup, in 2010. The side plays with flair and technical comfort on the ball, reflecting the country's rich domestic league culture. South Africa remains a proud, well-supported program working to recapture the momentum of its post-isolation rise.

The unified South African Football Association was formed in 1991 as apartheid-era segregation ended, and South Africa was readmitted to FIFA in 1992 after decades of international suspension. The team's signature achievement came almost immediately: winning the Africa Cup of Nations as hosts in 1996. South Africa went on to host the 2010 World Cup, a landmark moment for the continent, though the national team has not reached the same heights since its early 1990s peak.