Although the football team for South Africa participated in the Africa Cup of Nations much later than many African countries (the country was scheduled to participate in inaugural 1957 Africa Cup of Nations but was excluded because of apartheid[1]), as they participated for the first time as host of 1996 edition, South Africa has soon established itself as an emerging African power. The first edition South Africa participated was a complete success, with the team conquered their first, and only African trophy, on their debut.[2] [3] Since then, South Africa continues to participate and remains a reckoned force, though success has been elusive since the 2000s. Outside the 1996 edition, South Africa also hosted 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and managed to advance to the quarter-finals.[4] They again reached the quarter-finals in the 2019 edition of the tournament, and finished third at the 2023 tournament.
| Africa Cup of Nations record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | |||||||
 1957 | Disqualified due to apartheid | ||||||||
| 1959 | Banned | ||||||||
 1962 | |||||||||
 1963 | |||||||||
 1965 | |||||||||
| 1968 | |||||||||
| 1970 | |||||||||
 1972 | |||||||||
 1974 | |||||||||
| 1976 | |||||||||
| 1978 | |||||||||
 1980 | |||||||||
 1982 | |||||||||
| 1984 | |||||||||
| 1986 | |||||||||
 1988 | |||||||||
 1990 | |||||||||
 1992 | |||||||||
| 1994 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
 1996 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | |
 1998 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | |
| 2000 | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | |
 2002 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| 2004 | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
| 2006 | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 2008 | 13th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
 2010 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
  2012 | |||||||||
| 2013 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | |
| 2015 | Group stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2017 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2019 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2021 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2023 | Third place | 3rd | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2025 | To be determined | ||||||||
  2027 | |||||||||
| Total | 1 Title | 11/34 | 50 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 55 | 48 | |
| South Africa's Africa Cup of Nations record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=10% | First Match | width=23% | 3–0 | ||
| width=10% | Biggest Win | width=23% | 4–0 | ||
| width=10% | Biggest Defeat | width=23% | |||
| width=10% | Best Result | width=23% | Champions in 1996 | ||
| width=10% | Worst Result | width=23% | 16th place in 2006 | ||
| Year | Date | Location | Round | Opponent | Result | South Africa scorers | ||||
| 13 January 1996 | Group stage | 3–0 | ||||||||
| 20 January 1996 | 1–0 | |||||||||
| 24 January 1996 | 0–1 | |||||||||
| 27 January 1996 | Quarter-finals | 2–1 | ||||||||
| 31 January 1996 | Semi-finals | 3–0 | ||||||||
| bgcolor=gold | 3 February 1996 | bgcolor=gold | bgcolor=gold | 2–0 | bgcolor=gold | |||||
| 8 February 1998 | Group stage | 0–0 | ||||||||
| 11 February 1998 | 1–1 | |||||||||
| 16 February 1998 | 4–1 | |||||||||
| 22 February 1998 | Quarter-finals | 2–1 | ||||||||
| 25 February 1998 | Semi-finals | 2–1 | ||||||||
| bgcolor=silver | 28 February 1998 | bgcolor=silver | bgcolor=silver | 0–2 | bgcolor=silver | |||||
| 23 January 2000 | Group stage | 3–1 | ||||||||
| 27 January 2000 | 1–0 | |||||||||
| 2 February 2000 | 1–1 | |||||||||
| 6 February 2000 | Quarter-finals | 1–0 | ||||||||
| 10 February 2000 | Semi-finals | 0–2 | ||||||||
| bgcolor=#cc9966 | 12 February 2000 | bgcolor=#cc9966 | Third place play-off | bgcolor=#cc9966 | 2–2 | bgcolor=#cc9966 | ||||
| 20 January 2002 | Group stage | 0–0 | ||||||||
| 24 January 2002 | 0–0 | |||||||||
| 30 January 2002 | 3–1 | |||||||||
| 3 February 2002 | Quarter-finals | 0–2 | ||||||||
| 27 January 2004 | Group stage | 2–0 | ||||||||
| 31 January 2004 | 0–4 | |||||||||
| 4 February 2004 | 1–1 | |||||||||
| 22 January 2006 | Group stage | 0–2 | ||||||||
| 26 January 2006 | 0–2 | |||||||||
| 30 January 2006 | 0–1 | |||||||||
| 23 January 2008 | Group stage | 1–1 | ||||||||
| 27 January 2008 | 1–3 | |||||||||
| 31 January 2008 | 1–1 | |||||||||
| 19 January 2013 | Group stage | 0–0 | ||||||||
| 23 January 2013 | 2–0 | |||||||||
| 27 January 2013 | 2–2 | |||||||||
| 2 February 2013 | Quarter-finals | 1–1 | ||||||||
| 19 January 2015 | Group stage | 1–3 | ||||||||
| 23 January 2015 | 1–1 | |||||||||
| 27 January 2015 | 1–2 | |||||||||
| 24 June 2019 | Group stage | 0–1 | ||||||||
| 28 June 2019 | 1–0 | |||||||||
| 1 July 2019 | 0–1 | |||||||||
| 6 July 2019 | Round of 16 | 1–0 | ||||||||
| 10 July 2019 | Quarter-finals | 1–2 | ||||||||
| 16 January 2024 | Group stage | 0–2 | ||||||||
| 21 January 2024 | 4–0 | |||||||||
| 24 January 2024 | 0–0 | |||||||||
| 30 January 2024 | Round of 16 | 2–0 | ||||||||
| 3 February 2024 | Quarter-finals | 0–0 | ||||||||
| 7 February 2024 | Semi-finals | 1–1 | ||||||||
| bgcolor=#cc9966 | 10 February 2024 | bgcolor=#cc9966 | Third place play-off | bgcolor=#cc9966 | 0–0 | bgcolor=#cc9966 |
See also: List of Africa Cup of Nations hat-tricks. Phil Masinga was the first player to score for South Africa at the Africa Cup of Nations (1996). Benni McCarthy was the first and so far only player to score a hat-trick for South Africa at the tournament (1998).
| Rank | Player | Goals | Years (goals) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benni McCarthy | 7 | 1998 |
| 2 | Shaun Bartlett | 6 | 1996 (1) and 2000 (5) |
| 3 | Siyabonga Nomvethe | 5 | 2000 (2), 2002 and 2004 (2) |
| 4 | John Moshoeu | 4 | 1996 |
| Mark Williams | 4 | 1996 |