Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams excited for Afcon 2025 finals draw: "Yeah, we’re excited and looking forward to it'

Bafana Bafana secured their place in the 2025 Afcon when they defeated Uganda and South Sudan in November.

This achievement marks another opportunity for the national team to pursue Africa’s most coveted football prize after finishing third in the last edition in Ivory Coast.

Head coach Hugo Broos and his squad will aim to replicate the success of the late Clive Barker’s 1996 squad, who won the tournament on home soil.

Captain Ronwen Williams recently expressed his excitement about the upcoming Afcon draw for the 35th edition, scheduled for Monday.

“Yeah, we are excited. We are looking forward to it. As you mentioned, the main and the most important thing is the top 10 now. So we’ll be in part two, and it’s gonna be difficult whichever group that you are in, you know, because this is the best of the best on the continent, and we are excited about the draw,” said Williams as reported by SABC Sport.

“We looking forward to it. And you know, the most important thing is we qualified, you know, and come December, we’ve got enough time now, you know, God willing, you know, all our soldiers are fit, ready to go, you know?”

“And so that we can, obviously from the experiences we got last year, you know, even go a step further this year.”

The success of South African clubs like Orlando Pirates, Stellenbosch, and Mamelodi Sundowns in Caf competitions provides Broos with a broader pool of local talent to consider for his squad.

In the last Afcon, Bafana Bafana relied heavily on locally-based players and managed to achieve a commendable third-place finish.

The upcoming draw will shape how the team plans its approach for the tournament in December. A strong showing in the Afcon will further showcase the country’s rising football potential.

During the next international break in March, Bafana Bafana will face Lesotho and Benin in their FIFA World Cup qualifiers.