Record: P24 W14 D5 L5 GF43 GA21 WIN%58
Goalkeeper Khune first captained the side in 2012 and then sporadically thereafter, as injuries limited his own appearances in the national team.
He actually has the highest win percentage on this list, though a deeper dive into the opponents perhaps tells the story of generally weaker opposition.
Not perhaps the strongest of personalities, he nevertheless commanded respect within the team and was certainly a popular figure with fans.
He first captained the side against Malawi in a friendly in December 2012, but took over permanently following Bafana Bafana’s exit from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations at the quarter-final stage on home soil.
He did not captain every game he played during that spell and at times relinquished the armband, with his final match in charge a World Cup qualifier loss to Senegal in 2017.
Khune still won five Bafana caps after that, his last in November 2018, before Ronwen Williams took his place in the national team.
5. Neil Tovey
Record: P29 W16 D6 L7 GF39 GA25 WIN%55
Tovey was South Africa’s first captain upon readmission to international football in 1992, when they faced Cameroon in Durban.
Within three months, however, he was stripped of the captaincy and Steve Komphela was appointed instead, though Tovey would later regain the armband.
This came in November 1994 in a fixture against Ghana, and he would go on to lead the side to the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations title.
He kept the armband until April 1997, when he lost it again, and then played his final international later that year at the Confederations Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
In all, he was skipper for 29 of his 52 internationals and remains a legendary figure in the national team, largely because of his captaincy during the 1996 AFCON triumph.
Record: P30 W13 D10 L7 GF41 GA25 WIN%43
Centre-back Hlatshwayo was skipper for Bafana Bafana at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, when they famously defeated hosts Egypt in the Round of 16.
Conversely, he was also captain when the team failed to qualify for the 2021 edition, losing away to Sudan when they needed only a draw.
This proved the end for then coach Molefi Ntseki, who was replaced by Hugo Broos, and for Hlatshwayo in the national team, as he was not selected again after that match.
That was perhaps a little harsh on him, but Broos came in with a new broom and many established players were cleared out.
Hlatshwayo’s first game in charge was a 3–1 friendly win over Eswatini in March 2015, a match in which he scored, but it was not until the following year that he became a somewhat regular skipper.
It was really under Stuart Baxter that he became the permanent captain when fit and selected over the next three years.
3. Lucas Radebe
Record: P43 W18 D11 L14 GF57 GA51 WIN%42
Another iconic former captain of Bafana Bafana, Radebe led the national team at two World Cup finals, in 1998 and 2002.
He would have captained the side in many more matches but for club-versus-country issues and crippling injuries that limited his appearances towards the end of his career.
Radebe was part of the original side that played in the series against Cameroon in 1992 and played his final match 11 years later against England in Durban.
He won 70 caps in all, of which 43 were as captain, and first led the team in a World Cup qualifier against what was then Zaire (now DR Congo) in 1997.
His relatively low win percentage is perhaps deceiving, given the quality of opposition Bafana Bafana faced under his leadership, with top nations such as Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany and England regular opponents.
Record: P44 W23 D14 L7 GF72 GA52 WIN%52
The Round of 16 loss to Cameroon at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations was Williams’ 44th match in charge of Bafana Bafana, taking him past Radebe on the all-time list and into second place.
If he maintains his form and fitness, it is likely he will eventually become number one in more ways than one, unless the coach who follows Broos after the World Cup has a different view of who should lead the team.
Williams has proven to be a strong captain: he speaks well, commands the respect of his teammates, and possesses leadership qualities that make him an obvious choice.
He was first named captain against Namibia in a friendly in 2020, but it took 18 months for him to become the regular skipper.
That coincided with the arrival of Broos in the hot seat, and Williams is the only captain the Belgian has used when he has been fit and available.
Record: P63 W26 D12 L25 GF74 GA72 WIN%42
Mokoena holds the record for the most matches as captain of Bafana Bafana, 19 more than Williams.
The former centre-back was a strong leader who was earmarked early to take Bafana to the 2010 World Cup, and he did indeed lead the side at the finals.
He won 107 caps in total, also a Bafana record, and while it is fair to say he was not always the best in his position, his leadership was highly valued and prolonged his international career.
It was not until his 42nd cap that he was first named skipper, in a 2–0 friendly victory over Tunisia in August 2004. He led the team in all but two of his next 62 international appearances, briefly relinquishing the armband under interim coach Pitso Mosimane in mid-2006 for matches against Namibia and Congo.
His final international was a 0–0 draw with Sierra Leone in October 2010, after which new permanent coach Mosimane dropped the defender.
