World football governing body, FIFA, on Thursday released its latest rankings that showed several African nations have improved in the sport, including South Africa who is now 58th in the world and 10th in Africa.
Before winning bronze at the recently concluded 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament that was held in Ivory Coast, South Africa was ranked 66th in the world.
Speaking to the media during a ceremony held at O.R. Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, South Africa, the president of the nation’s football federation, Danny Jordan said AFCON marked a turning point for the southern African nation.
“Bafana is united again. Bafana is a family again. Bafana is winning again,” Jordan said as he applauded the team for their performance in Ivory Coast.
Africa’s football governing body, the Confederation of Africa Football, CAF, on Thursday released its team of the tournament. Included was South Africa’s captain Ronwen Williams and Teboho Mokoena, a midfielder.
Pundits applauded Williams for winning the golden glove after he kept five clean sheets. He also made AFCON history by becoming the first goalkeeper to block four out of five penalties during a shootout.
“I’m just proud of the boys for the brotherhood… You know, from day one, you know, the spirit amongst us has been good,” Williams said as he addressed his teammates.
“They made things so easy for me as a captain and I just want to thank everyone for the support, for all the messages, we saw each and every message and we appreciate it,” the Bafana Bafana captain added.
South African football authorities moved swiftly to bring Broos in as coach after Bafana Bafana missed out on qualification for AFCON in 2021. Prior to coaching the southern African team, the 71-year-old Belgian coach led Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions to victory in the African football tournament in 2017.
Broos has been labeled the coach who transformed Bafana Bafana, despite several fans questioning his choices after he picked a predominantly local squad to play in the tournament in Ivory Coast.
“Now, they know in Europe who South Africa is,” Broos said, adding, “it's very important that the national team plays good. That the national team can show themselves on a tournament like this, which was followed by 100 million people.”
Mark Fish, a member of South Africa’s 1996 AFCON winning team, says consistency is pivotal to ensure that Bafana Bafana continue with their current form.
“This AFCON has been a major boost for South African football in the sense that the performance, yes, getting a bronze medal, meaning that, we are doing many good things, but not necessarily enough to make sure that we are constantly qualifying for AFCONs and not going there just to make up the numbers, but to compete,” Fish said.
“We've put South Africa back on the African continent, back on the mark and making sure that this performance is something that we will live up to and even surpass in AFCON's to come,” he added.
Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal and Mali join South Africa on the list of African teams that climbed the FIFA rankings.
South Africa is scheduled to next play in June against Nigeria in a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying match. This will be a repeat of the semifinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where the West African nation defeated Bafana Bafana 4-2 on penalties.
VOA reporter Myron Naicker contributed to this report.
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