As it happened | 'Bafana is a family again!': Broos, The Boys touchdown back in SA after Afcon bronze

The South African men's national soccer team received a rapturous and electric applause on their arrival at the OR Tambo International on Wednesday morning despite their early return.

Bafana Bafana arrived back from the Ivory Coast after finishing third in the 2023 African Cup of Nations that was won by the hosts on Sunday.

Bafana did well to go as far as they did after losing the opening game to Mali (2-0). They bounced back to beat Namibia (4-0) and drew against Tunisia (0-0) to finish second in their group.

They then produced their best performance of the tournament when they beat Morocco 2-0 in the round of 16, from where they beat Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties after the game finished goalless after extra time in the quarterfinals.

They exited the tournament at the semi-final stage with a 4-2 penalty shootout loss to Nigeria after the game finished 1-1 after extra time.

They secured their first AFCON medal in 24 years when they beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 6-5 on penalties after their game ended goalless after full-time.

Bafana was supposed to arrive at 04:00, but their flight was delayed by an hour and a bit, a delay that was more than enough for a big crowd to build up.

There were plenty of Economic Freedom Fighters supporters, some of whom had arrived at 22:00 on Tuesday night in attendance.

Football fans, disadvantaged by the early arrival, started trickling in just after 05:30, from where the crowd swelled up significantly.

There were also serious dignitaries in attendance, with the EFF's top brass in Julius Malema, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, and Dali Mpofu there to welcome Ronwen Williams' charges.

Sports, Arts, and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa and senior members of his department in Sumayya Khan and Max Fuzani were also in