FIRST INTERNATIONAL MATCH
Before democracy came the birth of Bafana Bafana
On Friday‚ as a youthful South African side line up to play Namibia in the Cosafa Castle Cup at Moruleng Stadium‚ it will be 25 years to the day since the country’s first international — a 1-0 win over Cameroon in Durban that marked the end of isolation and the start of an exciting chapter for SA’s most popular sport. It was on July 7 1992 that the first Bafana side walked out at Kings Park Rugby Stadium wearing the country’s new gold, white and black strip — but in those days, still without a flag and anthem. It was the release of future president Nelson Mandela that precipitated the return of SA to the international arena‚ two years before the political structures were overhauled. Football was among the first sports to be banned from world sport because of SA’s apartheid policies, but once Mandela had been released‚ and the transformation process got under way‚ reintegration into the Fifa fold went quickly. At the 48th Fifa Congress in Zurich‚ SA’s membership was restored and with...
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