Although Mamelodi Sundowns' dominance in South Africa seems to be spreading to the continent too, it would be a gross overestimation to suggest that their success could inspire Bafana Bafana to a first Africa Cup of Nations title since 1996.
27 years have gone by since South Africa won their maiden AFCON title on home soil at their first attempt. The upcoming edition in the Ivory Coast next month will the 11th time they have qualified for the tournament, although the team missed the 2021 showpiece in Cameroon. The road to qualification for the next edition was made easier by the fact that CAF disqualified Zimbabwe from the 2023 AFCON qualifiers after the Warriors failed to get their FIFA ban lifted in time. This meant that Hugo Broos' side only faced Morocco and Liberia from their qualifying group, which eventually led to them booking their spot in the competition after collecting seven points from four group games. A 2-1 victory over Morocco in June served as a highlight from their road to qualification.
Read: OFFICIAL: African giants penalised by FIFA ahead of AFCON
