One of the first gifts that democracy brought South Africa was its first truly representative national soccer team.
In 1992, the united South African team came into being, playing Cameroon in its first match in Durban on 9 July. It was a triumphant occasion for the side that came to be known as Bafana Bafana - "The Boys" - as they edged the West African powerhouse by a goal to nil.
However, the win concealed the negative effect that apartheid-enforced isolation had had on local soccer. This lack of international experience showed as South Africa lost four matches in a row - to Cameroon, Zambia, Nigeria and Zambia - in failing to qualify for the 1994 African Nations Cup.
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