Soccer in South Africa

Football - or soccer, as we call it - is the most widely played sport in South Africa, with its traditional support base in the black community. For many South Africans the country's proudest sporting moment came when we won the African Nations Cup on home turf in 1996.

Soccer is intensely followed, and the quality of the local game keeps improving - as demonstrated by the increasing number of South African players-in-exile among the glamorous European clubs.

Local teams, organised in a national league plus a plethora of knock-out cups, are followed with passion by paint-daubed, costumed, whistling and cheering fans. Mercifully, the country has been spared the spectre of football hooliganism.

There's probably no quicker way to "break the ice" with the South African man on the street than to demonstrate some knowledge of local soccer. To help you improve your conversational skills, here's a crash course on the country's most important teams and competitions. (Andulela says: You may also join our Cape Town Soccer Tour).

Nelson Mandela leads the celebrations as Neil Tovey lifts the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations.

Bafana Bafana
One of the first gifts that democracy brought South Africa was its first truly representative national soccer team. That team's nickname soon became known worldwide when Bafana Bafana - "The Boys" - captured the African Nations Cup on home soil in 1996.

Bafana Bafana appeared in the World Cup finals for the first time in 1998, losing to hosts and eventual winners France and drawing with Denmark and Saudi Arabia. In the same year they contested the final of the African Nations Cup for the second time in succession, losing 2-0 to Egypt.

It was at the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, however, that Bafana Bafana showed their true potential. While they failed to progress beyond the first round of the tournament, it was a matter of goal difference only. A come-from behind 2-2 draw with Paraguay, a 1-0 victory over Slovenia and a 3-2 thriller of a loss against Spain showed that South Africa belonged on world football's biggest stage.

There followed, however, a number of frustrating years for Bafana fans as the team failed to make the quarterfinals of the 2004 African Nations Cup, to progress beyond the first round of the 2006 African Nations Cup, or to qualify for the 2006 Fifa World Cup - while they continued to slip down the world rankings.

The 2008 African Nations Cup, and the 2010 Fifa World Cup - for which South Africa automatically qualify as hosts - will give South Africa's national soccer team the chance to redeem themselves.

Kaizer Chiefs
South Africa's favourite soccer club never seems to play an away match - "the Amakhozi" often draw more supporters at away games than their opposition.

Founded by Kaizer Motaung, who made his name in the United States when the American league was drawing such superstars as Pele, Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer, Kaizer Chiefs have proved to be one of South Africa's most successful teams.

Twice the winners of SA's Premier Soccer League since its launch in 1997, Chiefs secured their first African title in 2002 when they won the Cup Winners Cup - renamed after Nelson Mandela - by defeating Inter Luanda of Angola in the final.

Orlando Pirates
Orlando Pirates are the oldest soccer team in South Africa, with a support base extending across the country's borders.

Two-time winners of SA's Premier Soccer League, "the Buccaneers" are the only South African team so far to have won Africa's premier club competition, the Champions League, a feat they achieved in 1995.

Like Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates seldom are disadvantaged when they play away from home, with fanatical supporters spread throughout South Africa. The fierce traditional rivalry between Pirates and Chiefs makes for one of the biggest derby matches in the world.

Premier Soccer League
South Africa's top club soccer league, the Premier Soccer League (PSL), came into being in 1997.

The PSL has helped raise the standard of club football in South Africa, providing the sport with better media coverage and much-improved revenue through strong sponsorship deals. It has also provided a platform for local players to make their mark and catch the eye of overseas clubs.

Manning Rangers, coached by Gordon Igesund, stunned all and sundry by winning the first PSL title in 1997 ahead of a number of more fancied opponents. From 1998 to 2000 the league was dominated by Sundowns, who pulled off a hat-trick of titles.

In 2001, Igesund moved to Orlando Pirates and helped "the Buccaneers" secure the title. The following season he moved to Cape Town-based Santos, and steered it to the league title, becoming the first coach to win the championship with three different clubs.

PSL winners:

• 2006/07: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 2005/06: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 2004/05: Kaizer Chiefs
• 2003/04: Kaizer Chiefs
• 2002/03: Orlando Pirates
• 2001/02: Santos
• 2000/01: Orlando Pirates
• 1999/00: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 1998/99: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 1997/98: Mamelodi Sundowns
• 1996/97: Manning Rangers

The Absa Cup gives clubs from the country's lower leagues the opportunity to face the richer sides of the Premier Soccer League.

The SAA Supa 8 competition is contested at the beginning of each Premier Soccer League season by the top eight finishers of the previous season.

The Coca-Cola Cup, which features all 16 PSL teams on a knockout basis, is one of South African football's most lucrative competitions, the winners pocketing R1.2-million in prize money.

The lower leagues
The First Division comprises 16 teams, while the Second Division is made up of 16 teams plus the top two finishers in nine regional competitions played around South Africa.

The Third Division is a massive league played on a regional basis, and it is from this division that the Second Division clubs come.

Article last updated: October 2007

Brad Morgan