More than a football triumph, it was a defining cultural moment in a country only two years into democracy; a moment when a fractured nation briefly felt like one team.
Now, Class of ’96: Rise of a Nation revisits that extraordinary chapter in South Africa’s history, peeling back the layers of celebration to reveal the complexity, pressure and fragile unity behind the triumph.
The 1996 Africa Cup of Nations victory arrived at a pivotal time. South Africa was re-entering the global stage after decades of isolation. Institutions were being rebuilt. Trust was still fragile. Identity was still forming.
“For many South Africans, that tournament was the first time they felt a sense of collective pride that cut across race, class and history,” says John Barker, series director and son of coach, Clive Barker.
“It wasn’t just about football, it was about seeing ourselves as one,” he reflects.
Yet, the series reveals how unlikely that unity truly was. Behind the scenes were political tensions, mistrust and immense pressure on a team that understood they were playing for more than silverware. They were carrying the hopes of a young democracy.
Coach Clive Barker, not the unanimous first choice within SAFA at the time, brought a bold, uncompromising vision. Seen by some administrators as difficult and outspoken, he was determined to do things his way. That self-belief would become a defining feature of the team’s identity.
The docuseries uncovers the emotional weight the players carried and the deliberate effort to build a team culture that mirrored the kind of country South Africa was trying to become: diverse, trusting and united in purpose.
While football is the lens, Class of ’96 ultimately tells a broader story about identity and belonging.
The players came from vastly different backgrounds shaped by apartheid’s divisions. Yet football, uniquely among South Africa’s major sporting codes, had begun integrating leagues as early as the 1970s.
Black, White, Coloured and Indian leagues joined to form one structure — creating a cultural clash that played out across the late 70s, 80s and early 90s.
“Football was inclusive long before the country officially was,” John explains. “My dad and the players were mixing it up together when he won the league with Durban City and Durban Bush Bucks.”
As South Africa stepped back into international competition, Bafana Bafana became one of the nation’s first ambassadors. Their journey — learning to trust one another, to live together, to believe together — mirrored the country’s own.
In that sense, sport became a rehearsal for society.
The power of Class of ’96 lies in its intimate access. Having longstanding relationships with many of the players allowed the director to move beyond rehearsed answers and into genuine reflection.
“I was able to sit with them and reminisce as if we were just chilling, shooting the breeze,” John says.
Rare archival footage and candid interviews reveal moments of vulnerability, particularly when players speak about being trusted by Coach Barker. That trust, they explain, was transformative. It gave them belief not only in their abilities as footballers, but in themselves as individuals.
The series resists the temptation to romanticise the past. While the final is remembered as a triumphant crescendo, the documentary explores the doubts, disagreements and uncertainty that preceded it.
The Springboks' victory in the Rugby World Cup the previous year, which raised hopes for another unifying sporting event, was one of the main reasons the team was under so much pressure.
Unity, the series suggests, was never inevitable. It was built.
Directing the series as the son of Coach Clive Barker adds a deeply personal dimension.
“I grew up seeing the personal cost that journey took on him — especially the actions of the South African Football Association (Safa) — but also the profound pride he felt in those players,” he reflects. “I had a front-row seat to the humanity behind the headlines.”
Revisiting archival footage decades later revealed the swagger that defined Barker’s leadership. On camera, he confidently declared: “We will win Afcon and qualify for our first World Cup.” He even went so far as to predict victory in France.
“If we don’t beat Brazil, I will eat my hat,” he once joked; a bold statement that was less bravado than belief. It was his way of instilling confidence in his squad.
One particular moment captured on tape shows Barker standing beside Nelson Mandela, joking that if Phil Masinga were injured, the president looked fit enough to play striker. Madiba’s laughter still resonates.
The project has been nearly eight years in the making. Fortuitously, the director filmed intimate interviews with his father in 2021 while he was still lucid. The series closes with some of those moments.
“I’m sorry he didn’t get to see the finished series,” he says. “But at least he knew we were going to make it.”
For both son and filmmaker, the journey was deeply personal; and profoundly necessary.
Significantly, Class of ’96 is positioned as African-owned, premium intellectual property. In an industry where African stories have often been filtered through external lenses, that ownership matters.
“For a long time, African stories were told from the outside,” says John. “This one is authored from lived understanding. That ensures cultural truth isn’t diluted.”
The 1996 Bafana Bafana squad remains, in his view, one of the greatest African teams ever assembled. But beyond sporting accolades, the series signals something larger: that African stories, when crafted with cinematic excellence and emotional depth, can stand confidently on any global platform.
“We don’t need to look outward for validation,” he says. “Our history, our people and our stories are powerful enough.”
Nearly 30 years on, the victory still resonates because it captured something rare — a glimpse of who South Africa could be at its best. Class of ’96: Rise of a Nation reminds viewers that unity was not accidental. It was intentional, fragile and hard-won.
And perhaps, in revisiting that moment, the series offers more than nostalgia. It offers perspective and possibility.
Produced by Known Associates Entertainment in partnership with A Barking Rat Film, the series combines rare archival footage, global football voices and intimate access to the players and coaches who shaped a generation. Contributors include José Mourinho, Martin Tyler, Howard Wilkinson OBE, Alan Curbishley, Benni McCarthy, Doctor Khumalo, Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish and more, placing South Africa’s football story firmly within an international context.
Class of ’96: Rise of a Nation is available on Netflix.
