South Africa's national football team has shown endearing "fighting spirit and discipline," Litha Mpondwana, Media Liaison Officer of SA Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture told Sputnik Africa.
The team, nicknamed Bafana Bafana ("The Boys"), reached the semi-finals of the AFCON for the first time since 2000, before losing 4-2 on penalties to Nigeria on Wednesday.
"Bafana Bafana inspired and showed that there are bright days ahead for South Africa's national football teams. Bafana Bafana inspired South Africans to gather in their homes and in public spaces to rally behind the team," Mpondwana said.
"That is the essence of sport – to unite people," he concluded.
The ministry noted that due to the fact that the SA team dropped out of the AFCON, Zizi Kodwa, the country's Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, will not be present at the final of the tournament, allowing him to attend the exhibition match held in solidarity with Palestine in Cape Town on February 11.
South Africa has actively supported Palestine since the start of the latest escalation ofthe Israeli-Palestinian conflict.