(content by SA Sports)
South Africa is the southernmost country in Africa, with a population of over 58 million people. It is renowned for its variety of cultures, languages, and religions. Since the legal ending of apartheid, the country has experienced significant development in almost all walks of life.
Apart from the fact that the country is endowed with beautiful landscapes and natural resources. It is also blessed with great human capital. South Africans have been doing the country proud ever since their independence in 1994. They have been well represented in the areas of education, sports, art, music, culture, tourism and so on.
Whenever the name ‘South Africa’ is being made mention of in any part of the world, there are a few certain things that come to mind. These are things or areas that the country is best known for. Now, let’s take a look at some of the things that stand out about South Africa.
Football
Since the establishment of the South African Football Association, the country has made massive progress in football. In the last two decades, South Africa has established itself as a positive, constructive member of the soccer world.
It has taken part in every CAF and FIFA competitions. The national team has qualified twice for the World Cup finals in 1998 and 2002. The country hosted the 2010 version of the FIFA World Cup.
South Africa hosted and won the 1996 edition of the Africa Cup of Nation. The South African football league, if not the best, is one of the best football leagues in Africa. The likes of Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sunshine are doing the country proud on the continent.
Rugby
The South Africa Rugby union is a very popular team sport and widely played in the country. The national team known as Springbok is one of the strongest in the world. The Springbok has won the Rugby World Cup for a record three times. First was in 1995, when they hosted and won the competition. They repeated the feat in 2007 and recently in 2019.
The Super Rugby, Currie Cup, and Pro 14 are the popular South Africa rugby union domestic competitions.
Tourism
South Africa is also known for its enormous tourist attraction sites. The country is a destination for tourists around the world. People visit South Africa to enjoy the natural landscape, game reserves, rich cultural heritage, and highly regarded wines.
The country provides both domestic and international tourists a wide variety of options. Most popular destination sites include natural parks (Kruger National Park), beaches in Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. South African has continued to play a major role in the development of tourism on the African continent.
Boxing
South Africa has a long history of professional boxing. The country has produced several world champions. Professional boxers from South Africa have won over 49 world boxing titles. And the number of world champions from South Africa has significantly increased in recent times. One of them is the International Boxing Organization (IBO) welterweight champion Chris Van Heerden.
Chris has recently joined Fight to fame. The South African professional boxer is the first on a list of popular athletes to join the new blockchain-powered entertainment platform. Fight to fame in its quest to take SA boxing to the next level is working with boxing stars and champions. They intend to make South Africa boxing scene bigger than ever.
With projects like Fight to fame boxers and martial artists have the chance to compete at the global stage. Chris joins the Fight to fame project to support them in promoting professional boxing in South Africa and the rest of the world. He once said, “It’s important to me to make a meaningful contribution to people back at home in South Africa, where so much young talent exists”.
Cricket
Cricket was originally a prominent sport among the British and Indian South African communities. But the sport has now been widely followed by descents of all races. The South African national cricket team also known as Proteas is managed by Cricket South Africa.
South Africa is a member of the International Cricket Council with One-Day International (ODI), Test and Twenty 20 International status. The country hosted the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup, and 2007 ICC World Twenty20.
South Africa is majorly known globally for its achievement in sports. It is among the few countries that have featured in world cups of three major sports (Football, Cricket, and Rugby). The other nations to have achieved such a feat are England, Australia, and New Zealand.
Other areas that South Africans have made their mark in the world include music, track and field events, performing arts, etc. In the track and field events, the likes of Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk are flying the country’s flag high.
