South African football authorities and fans say they are happy with the latest FIFA world rankings that listed Bafana Bafana as the 10th best national team on the continent, resulting from their recent Africa Cup of Nations performance where they won bronze.
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.
