The rise and fall of South Africa at the Cup of Nations

Here is the complete record of the South Africa (Bafana Bafana) in the African football showpiece after the collapse of apartheid permitted their entry.
Debutants and hosts South Africa won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), but it has been mainly downhill since for a team popularly known as Bafana Bafana (The Boys).
The serial Africa Cup of Nations underachievers are under immense pressure to excel at the 2024 tournament in the Ivory Coast, says star forward Percy Tau.
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The 1996 champions face fellow former title-holders Tunisia, and Mali and Namibia in Group E in Korhogo, the northernmost of five host cities.
It is widely considered the most intriguing of the six first-round mini-leagues with pundits uncertain which two teams will automatically qualify for the knockout stage.
Here is the complete record of the country in the African football showpiece after the collapse of apartheid permitted their entry:
1994: Failed to qualify
1996: Champions (hosts)
1998: Runners-up
2000: Third
2002: Quarter-finals
2004: First round
2006: First round
2008: First round
2010: Failed to qualify
2012: Failed to qualify
2013: Quarter-finals (hosts)
2015: First round
2017: Failed to qualify
2019: Quarter-finals
2022: Failed to qualify
STORY BY AFP
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