From Afcon to World Cups, a feast of soccer awaits South Africa in 2026

For soccer supporters around the world, 2026 will be the equivalent of an “all-you-can-eat” buffet. The main course will be the expanded Fifa World Cup, hosted by Mexico, the US and Canada.

However, a number of filling meals will be on offer for fans to feast on, from the crowning of a new African champion in mid-January 2026 at the culmination of the Morocco-hosted Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), to South African Premiership action, where Orlando Pirates and others are trying to thwart Mamelodi Sundowns from winning a mind-bending ninth league title in a row.

But before the success or failure of that mission by the Buccaneers is determined, eyes will turn to another continental tournament hosted by Morocco – the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon). This edition of the tournament will be super significant because it will also serve as a qualifier for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Bafana to the world

South Africa’s senior men’s side will have a massive 2026. Between their hopes of winning just their second Afcon title (after success in 1996) and making a splash at their first World Cup since 2010, the year has the potential to be revolutionary for local soccer.

For years, from an international perspective, South Africa’s men’s soccer scene has regressed, with Bafana Bafana struggling to even string together five wins on the trot. Until the intervention of Belgian coach Hugo Broos, that is.

Appointed in 2021, Broos found a Bafana Bafana team that was even shunned by its compatriots. In that regard, one match stands out. The South Africans hosted the Democratic Republic of Congo at Orlando Stadium in 2023 for an international friendly. About 7,000 spectators made it to the encounter at the Soweto venue, which can house well over 30,000 spectators. However, as a demonstration of South Africans’ indifference to Bafana at the time, the majority of the supporters at the stadium were Congolese, to Broos’s disdain.

In the two years since the tables have turned drastically. Not only do Bafana Bafana play in front of healthy crowds, but it is now also unthinkable that they would be outnumbered by the supporters of a visiting team. In 2026, the team has an opportunity to further bolster its public profile.

“What excites me about Bafana Bafana right now? Their tactical approach, how the players have transformed their tactical approach. They have gained confidence and experience in dealing with pressure,” former Bafana midfielder Doctor Khumalo said about the team’s progression under Broos.

“Remember, they are coming from years where there were no supporters in the stands and they were losing games. All of a sudden, they’re growing to become a powerhouse in Africa again,” he said.

This growth can only be positive for South African soccer. Broos’s current team is made up of mostly locally based players. If they do well at Afcon and then again at the World Cup, this may change and international clubs could come knocking.

Another former Bafana Bafana star, Shaun Bartlett, believes that this crop of players has it in them to restore South Africa to the summit of African soccer over the next few months.

“There is a lot of pressure, but they are capable of handling the pressure. That’s why we play professional football. When we started as young players, we wanted to enjoy the game. We should still enjoy the game. Winning games is part of life and losing games is the same,” Bartlett said.

Banyana’s bounce-back mission

Just like her Bafana counterpart, Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has taken South Africa’s senior women’s soccer side to new heights in nearly a decade as the permanent national head coach.

This includes guiding Banyana to a maiden Wafcon title in 2022, before engineering a historic run to the round of 16 at the 2023 World Cup. Through the latter milestone, they became the only South African senior side to make it out of a World Cup group stage.

However, since then Banyana Banyana have had some struggles. They failed to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Then they toiled at the 2024 Wafcon, which took place in 2025 because of a clash with the Olympics, and could only manage fourth place.

Then there was Ellis’s contractual standoff with the South African Football Association. She had worked for months without a contract, and when she was finally offered one, she was not happy with the terms and her future was up in the air.

Eventually the two parties met halfway and Ellis put pen to paper to continue her journey with the team. Their next assignment will be wresting the Wafcon title from Nigeria in Morocco. The tournament is scheduled for 17 March to 3 April 2026.

The top four teams will head to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. On the back of their heroic display at the 2023 global showpiece, Banyana will not want to miss out on just their third World Cup appearance since debuting in 2019.

Further afield

In club soccer beyond Africa, eyes will be fixed on the European Champions League. It’s the second season of the popular continental club competition since its organisers did away with the group-stage format in favour of a league format that features 36 teams.

Paris Saint-Germain are the defending champions. With the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Arsenal also dreaming of European glory, Luis Enrique’s men will have a tough time as they bid to defend their title. Since 1992, only Real Madrid has managed to win successive Champions League titles.

In the English Premier League, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are gunning for their first domestic league title since that super-successful “Invincibles” season of 2003/4. The Gunners have been runners-up for the past three seasons. In 2026, will they be able to graduate from bridesmaids to brides, or will they once again stumble and fall short?

In Spain’s LaLiga it appears that a champion will once again come from Barcelona or Real Madrid. The pair of Spanish soccer giants have conquered their domestic league a combined nine times over the past decade.

Atlético Madrid briefly broke their duo’s dominance in 2020/21, but the natural order has been restored since, with Barça and Real taking turns to lift the league title. This season the Blaugrana look likely to edge their rivals. DM

Yanga Sibembe is a Daily Maverick sports journalist.

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.