SOUTH AFRICA

Year of formation: 1892 / 1991 Affiliation FIFA: 1952 / 1992 Affiliation CAF: 1957 / 1992 National Stadium: Soccer City, Johannesburg (78 000) National Colours: Gold - Black / Green / White

South Africa are the only Cosafa member country to have won the African Nations Cup title, doing so on home soil at their first attempt in 1996. They were runners-up in Burkina Faso two years later and finished third at the 2000 Nations Cup tournament in Ghana and Nigeria. Bafana Bafana have also qualified for two World Cups, competing in France in 1998 and South Korea in 2002. They also won the Afro-Asian Nations Cup, beating Asian champions Saudi Arabia over two legs in 1999. They also hold the distinction of being the only southern African country to provide a winner of an African club competition with Orlando Pirates taking the African Champions Cup in 1995 and Kaizer Chiefs the African Cup Winners’ Cup in 2001. But despite all that success, South Africa reached the final of Cosafa Castle Cup for the first time in 2002, winning the trophy with a 4-1 aggregate triumph over Malawi in the two-legged final. After more barren years, they have also claimed the last two tournaments, beating old foes Zambia on penalties in the final in 2007, and running out victorious in last year’s event, despite fielding an unofficial ‘President’s XI’ line-up that included players mostly from the second tier of South African football.

RECORD