Bafana Bafana have qualified for the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament which is set to be hosted in Morocco next year. South Sudan defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo 3-2 in their group K clash on Thursday afternoon. Because of this result, DR Congo cannot catch up with South Africa who are currently second in the standings or the leaders Uganda. It’s a time of jubilation for South Africans, who have enjoyed the rise of the men’s senior national team since Belgian tactician Hugo Broos took the reins. It was a hard adjustment for some fans who were quick to criticise him, but on paper, Broos was well within his right to become the new head coach. Broos did the “unthinkable” and South Africans began to get behind the national team in their 2023 AFCON bronze medal-winning run. And now, Bafana Bafana will be playing in the continental showpiece and not by chance or pure luck, but because they earned it. Their campaign even made sure that Ronwen Williams received world recognition as the Mamelodi Sundowns shot stopper was nominated for the Yashine Trophy at this year’s Ballon d’Or awards. There’s been a long running joke about South Africans, who always have to “pull out their calculators” when Bafana Bafana play in international tournaments. But now, Mzansi can put their calculator and number-crunching skills on the back burner. A new era dawns on South African football.