50 Fun Facts About South African Soccer

Which pop star recorded the official 2010 World Cup song with South African band Freshlyground?

Shakira borrowed the chorus from 'Zangaléwa', a 1986 hit by Cameroonian band Golden Sounds that she had heard as a child in Colombia.

Which plastic horn, sounding one loud monotone note, became the soundtrack of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa?

Vuvuzela horns spread to stadiums worldwide after the tournament, until UEFA banned them from Champions League and European Championship matches.

Which former president made his final public appearance at the closing ceremony of the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg?

Nelson Mandela had made his first Johannesburg speech after his 1990 release from prison in the very same stadium.

What kind of animal was Zakumi, the green-haired official mascot of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa?

Leopard mascot Zakumi took his name from ZA, the country's code, and 'kumi', a word for ten in several African languages.

Which South African club inspired the name of the Leeds indie band behind the hit 'I Predict a Riot'?

Kaizer Chiefs were the first club of a former Leeds United captain, so the band borrowed the name and changed a single letter.

Which nickname for South Africa's men's national soccer team was popularised in print by three Sowetan journalists?

Bafana Bafana means 'the boys, the boys', a cry fans took up in Durban in 1992 as the team closed in on beating Cameroon.

South Africa became the first World Cup hosts to exit at the group stage despite beating which former champions 2–1?

France had been runners-up four years earlier, but both teams went out in 2010, the hosts missing second place only on goal difference.

Which Adidas ball, attacked by goalkeepers for swerving unpredictably, was the official ball of the 2010 World Cup?

Jabulani means 'be happy' in Zulu, though Brazil goalkeeper Júlio César likened it to a ball bought in a supermarket.

Which country won its first World Cup in Johannesburg in 2010, beating the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time?

Spain arrived as European champions, and the final was certain to crown a new winner because neither side had lifted the trophy before.

Which stadium, rebuilt to resemble a calabash cooking pot, hosted the opening match and final of the 2010 World Cup?

Soccer City, officially FNB Stadium, opened in 1989 and was enlarged for the tournament to a capacity of 94,736.

Which township gives its name to the Johannesburg derby that began when a star player left one club to found another?

Soweto is home to both clubs, and the fixture dates from 1970, when a former star of the older side set up a rival of his own.

Which country did South Africa face in the opening match of both the 2010 and 2026 World Cups?

Mexico drew 1–1 with the hosts in Johannesburg in 2010, then won the rematch on home soil at the Estadio Azteca sixteen years later.

Under which nickname did South Africa's women's national team win their first continental title in Morocco in 2022?

Banyana Banyana beat the hosts in the final, making South Africa only the second country to win both the men's and women's African titles.

Which African team missed a last-minute penalty that would have sent them to the 2010 World Cup semi-finals?

Ghana were denied by Luis Suárez's goal-line handball in Johannesburg; Asamoah Gyan struck the crossbar from the spot and Suárez celebrated the miss.

Where did political prisoners run the Makana Football Association, a league later granted honorary FIFA membership?

Robben Island inmates played strictly by the Laws of the Game, because the FIFA rulebook was one of the few books in the prison library.

Which South African striker won the 2004 Champions League under José Mourinho at Porto?

Benni McCarthy was the first South African to win Europe's top club prize, and he also scored 31 goals for the national team.

Which country beat South Africa to host the 2006 World Cup after an Oceania delegate abstained from the final vote?

Germany won because Charlie Dempsey abstained; his vote would have tied the ballot 12–12 and left the decision to Sepp Blatter, who favoured South Africa.

Which South African defender, who began his career as a goalkeeper, went on to captain Leeds United?

Lucas Radebe twice went back in goal for Leeds in 1996, once after an injury and once after a red card, two years before he was made captain.

Which country did South Africa beat 2–0 in Johannesburg to win the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations as hosts?

Tunisia lost to a team that was only staging the tournament because the original hosts, Kenya, had been replaced.

Which club, founded in 1937, won the African Champions Cup in 1995, two decades before any other South African side?

Orlando Pirates began as a boys' club team that played barefoot and without a kit in Johannesburg's minor leagues.

Which South African winger scored the opening goal of the 2010 World Cup on the day he won his 50th cap?

Siphiwe Tshabalala's strike was nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award, the prize for the year's most beautiful goal.

Which South African, nicknamed 'Schillo' after an Italian striker, was Everton's Player of the Season in 2009–10?

Steven Pienaar got the name as a boy, when friends likened him to Totò Schillaci, the surprise star of the 1990 World Cup.

Which South African club earned the nickname 'the Brazilians' after changing its kit to copy Brazil's national team?

Mamelodi Sundowns later lived up to the billing by winning the African Champions League in 2016 and being voted the continent's club of the year.

Which Durban venue built for the 2010 World Cup has a giant arch that visitors can ride up by funicular?

Moses Mabhida Stadium's arch rises 106 metres above the pitch and was inspired by the national flag, as a symbol of a divided country coming together.

Which Johannesburg ground was the scene of South Africa's worst sporting disaster, a crowd crush at a 2001 derby?

Ellis Park was already full when fans kept surging in for seats, and 43 people were crushed to death as the crowd spilled into the press boxes.

Which South African forward joined Brighton in 2018 but waited 905 days for his debut because of work-permit problems?

Percy Tau spent the wait on loan in Belgium, where he was named player of the season in the second division with Union SG.

Which goalkeeper saved four shootout penalties to send South Africa into the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals?

Ronwen Williams set a tournament record for saves in one shootout against Cape Verde, and was later ranked ninth for the Yashin Trophy.

Which midfielder scored the penalty that beat Cameroon in South Africa's first match after readmission to FIFA in 1992?

Doctor Khumalo owes the name to his birth certificate: he was christened Theophilus Doctorson Khumalo.

Which South African star played alongside Pelé at the New York Cosmos, then named the club he bought after them?

Jomo Sono once left his own wedding to rescue a match, set up three goals and scored a fourth, then went back to the reception.

Which mining billionaire and Pretoria club owner became president of African football's governing body in 2021?

Patrice Motsepe founded African Rainbow Minerals and bought a majority stake in his club in 2004, before taking it over outright.

Which Dutch club helped create a Cape Town side in 1999 as a talent feeder, lending it a name and crest?

Ajax Amsterdam merged Seven Stars and Cape Town Spurs into one club, which kept the Dutch name until the parent sold its shares in 2020.

Which South African midfielder spent seven years at Manchester United after Alex Ferguson signed him in 1999?

Quinton Fortune never played the ten league games a medal required, yet was given a Premier League winner's medal by special dispensation in 2003.

Which South African coach won African club football's top prize in 2016, then twice more with Egypt's Al Ahly?

Pitso Mosimane was the first non-Egyptian African to manage Al Ahly, and one of his finals there was won against a club from back home.

What name is given to the hand-cut, hand-painted miners' hard hats worn by South African soccer fans?

Makarapa first meant the migrant workers who came home wearing such helmets, before the word passed to the hats themselves.

Which striker scored the late winner against Italy that put South Africa's women into the 2023 World Cup last 16?

Thembi Kgatlana had also scored South Africa's first ever Women's World Cup goal in 2019, a year after being named Africa's best player.

Which Belgian coach led South Africa to bronze at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and a first World Cup knockout match?

Hugo Broos had already won the Africa Cup of Nations as coach of Cameroon in 2017, four years before he took the South Africa job.

Which South African striker became the first African footballer to score 100 international goals, in 2014?

Portia Modise reached the mark with two goals in a 5–1 win over Algeria and retired the following year on 101.

Which South African captain marked his 100th cap in 2010 by wearing the number 100 on his shirt?

Aaron Mokoena had once been the national team's youngest ever player at 18, and he led the hosts out at the World Cup weeks after his century.

Which coach, nicknamed 'the Dog', guided South Africa to the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil?

Clive Barker had coached club sides including Durban City and AmaZulu since the 1970s before he took the national job.

Which defender, who founded her own club, became South Africa's most-capped footballer, male or female?

Janine van Wyk took the record with her 125th cap in 2016 and went on to 185, the most for any African women's national team.

Which South African actress presented the final draw for the 2010 World Cup alongside FIFA's secretary general?

Charlize Theron hosted the draw in Cape Town, where David Beckham and distance runner Haile Gebrselassie were among those picking out the balls.

Which team did the 2010 World Cup's host nation beat 1–0 in 2026 to reach the knockout rounds for the first time?

South Korea lost the final group game, which sent South Africa through as runners-up behind the co-hosts who had beaten them in the opener.

Which Johannesburg club, born at a university in 1921 and nicknamed the Clever Boys, won its first league title in 2017?

Bidvest Wits lasted only three more seasons before its top-flight status was sold to another club in 2020.

Which 2010 World Cup venue near Kruger National Park has roof supports shaped like giraffes and zebra-striped seats?

Mbombela Stadium has 18 of the giraffe supports, with the steel towers for its roof rods doubling as the animals' necks.

Which administrator led South Africa's winning bid for the 2010 World Cup and ran the tournament as its top executive?

Danny Jordaan had also fronted the failed bid for 2006, and in 2013 he was elected president of the South African Football Association.

Which European country did South Africa beat 1–0 at the 2002 tournament for their first-ever World Cup finals win?

Slovenia's defeat was not enough for South Africa, who lost second place in the group to Paraguay on goals scored.

Which country swapped hosting years with South Africa, handing it the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, during a civil war?

Libya had been due to host for the first time since 1982, and the swap gave South Africa its second tournament on home soil.

Which striker, nicknamed 'Chippa', scored the 1997 goal against Congo that sent South Africa to their first World Cup?

Phil Masinga had joined Leeds United in 1994 and later spent four seasons with Bari in Italy's Serie A.

Which South African winger became the first black player to appear in an FA Cup final, for Leeds United in 1965?

Albert Johanneson had been recommended to Leeds by a schoolteacher back home, and a blue plaque in the city honours him.

Which unfancied club, known as the Maulers, won the first Premier Soccer League title in the 1996–97 season?

Manning Rangers finished on 74 points under coach Gordon Igesund, ahead of all the country's far bigger clubs.