South Africa “Bafana Bafana”
In the Zulu language “Bafana” means “Boys”. When the South Africa joined the FIFA after the toppling of the racist apartheid regime, officials of football in South Africa started looking for a nickname for their football team. A journalist named Pero Meselco suggested the nickname as a reflection of youth. At first, football officials were not excited since the name does not represent strong brave men, however quickly the nickname was loved by football fans and spread among them, becoming the team’s official nickname very quickly.