The date – February 3 – will carry significant inspiration for Bafana Bafana as they seek to reach the semi-finals of the AFCON for the first time since the year 2000.
Bafana have a date with Cape Verde on Saturday night (22h00) in a tie that will determine who then proceeds to meet Nigeria in the semi-finals.
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While Bafana get down to business in the Ivorian city of Yamoussoukro, Hugo Broos' team will find motivation upon revoking memories of what happened on this day in 1996.
February 3, 1996, was the day Bafana lifted the AFCON title on home soil in front of a partisan crowd at the old FNB Stadium that had blue and white seats.
Winning the '96 AFCON remains Bafana 's greatest ever moment and the current team will feel the drive to emulate should they be shown footage from that day.
1996 was also a good year for a then 44-year-old Broos who won the Belgian double with Club Brugge.
The oldest members of the Bafana squad Themba Zwane and Thabang Monare were dealing with issues related to knowing how to properly write their names in the months leading to their seventh birthdays.
Considering that both Zwane and Monare would have been in Grade One that year their memories of Bafana's 93 success would be cloudy.
None of the rest of the squad were in school with Ronwen Williams having just recently turned four and probably in pre-school somewhere in Gqeberha.
Terrence Mashego, Teboho Mokoena, Sphephelo Sithole, Jayden Adams, Thapelo Maseko, Zakhele Lepasa, Evidence Makgopa, Mihlali Mayambela, and Oswin Appollis were all not even born.
Percy Tau, Khuliso Mudau, Ricardo Goss, Nyiko Mobbie, Aubrey Modiba, Mothobi Mvala, Nkosinathi Sibisi, and Percy Tau had all not turned two at the time.
However, having all grown to make careers out of football they have gotten to know about the significance of 1996 in South African football.
February 3 in particular!
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This could be the date that drives Bafana to deliver on what they failed to do under seven other coaches – Carlos Queiroz, Styles Phumo, Ted Dumitru, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Gordon Igesund, Shakes Mashaba, and Stuart Baxter – in the last 24 years.
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