Bafana 1996 hero identifies similar traits in current squad

ALMOST THREE decades have passed since Bafana Bafana reached the summit of African football, yet for Mark Williams — a hero of the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations triumph — the memories still echo powerfully whenever he steps into the FNB Stadium.

- MATSHELANE MAMABOLO-

“Tt was all 29 years ago, which next (year) will be 30 years ago,” he teflects, almost in disbelief at how time has marched on.

We are at the national soccer stadium, venue of that glorious afternoon when Williams came off the bench to send South Africa into delirium. Of course, the nostalgia is not where his mind lingers. Instead, Williams remains fixated on one thing: the hope that the current generation of Bafana players can finally reclaim the glory that made them continental kings.

And if anyone understands what it takes, it is Williams — the man who scored the two goals that secured the 1996 title. It is why he speaks with both authority and emotion when he says, “I would like to believe, while I’m still alive, that they can win it. And this is the opportunity.”

For years, Bafana Bafana languished in inconsistency, unable to produce the kind of performances that once united a nation. But Williams sees something stirring again — something familiar. “There’s a bit of excitement around the camp,” he notes. “People know the players... there's a bit of interest in the Bafana team.” It may seem small, but for a national team long starved of public enthusiasm, this shift is significant.

The return of Castle as a partner, he says, signals something symbolic — a reconnection with the era that transformed Bafana into continental champions.

But excitement alone does not win tournaments. What matters, Williams insists, is the sense of unity and responsibility passed down from one generation to the next.

“The legends have won it, and given that baton over to them, saying: ‘Guys, it’s in your hands.’”