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Football in South Africa can be traced back to the late 19 ^th century and the first recognised club was formed as early as 1879, under the title of Pietermaritzburg County. The team initially played matches against military selections from the occupying British troops, and came solely from the European immigrant population.The Natal Football Association was formed in 1882 and with a league comprising four clubs - Pietermaritzburg County, Natal Wasps, Durban Alpha and Umgeni Stars. By the following year, the league had grown to the strength of ten clubs.In Johannesburg, the Transvaal FA had been formed in 1889 by the Dutch immigrants who settled in the area, and their main competition was the Transvaal Challenge Cup. The early winners were Wanderers Wasps in 1889, Rangers in 1890, 1892 to 1894 and 1896. The Rangers club existed for more than a hundred years, winning the First Division in 1986. The game spread next to the coastal city of Port Elizabeth, where a Scotsman by the surname of Dickson, his first name having faded from the annals of history, attempted to establish a league, but with little success. Two Englishman founded a club called Pioneers FC in Cape Town in 1890, and they immediately challenged the dominance of the British military teams for competition honours.This is South Africa's third appearance at the FIFA World Cup. Their first participation was at France 1998 and they also qualified for Korea/Japan 2002.South Africa hosted and won the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 at their first attempt, beating Tunisia 2-0 in Johannesburg's Soccer City. They went on to finish as runners-up at the following edition in 1998, losing to Egypt 2-0 in the final. Benni McCarthy scored the country's first goal at the FIFA World Cup in a 1-1 draw against Denmark on 18 June 1998.