3 July 1992 - Welcome, Bafana Bafana!

On 3 July 1992, FIFA welcomed South Africa back into the international football fold after a ban of almost 31 years.

The Football Association of South Africa was founded in 1892, but was limited to whites only, due to the country's policy of racial segregation known as apartheid. In 1957, South Africa was invited to join the Confederation of African Football, along with Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan, but was expelled in 1958 over the other countries' objections to apartheid.

Also in 1958, South Africa was admitted to FIFA, but was suspended on 26 September 1961, again due to apartheid. Shortly afterward, FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous argued for South Africa's readmission, claiming that the suspension would irrevocably harm the development of South African football and that FIFA had no business in political matters.

FIFA lifted the suspension in January 1963, but reimposed it in October 1964. They formally expelled South Africa in 1976 after the Soweto uprising, in which South African police killed 23 protesters.

In 1991, as racial barriers in South Africa began to fall, the FASA was replaced by the integrated South African Football Association. The new association was admitted to FIFA on 3 July 1992 and, on 7 July 1992, the unified South African national team, nicknamed the Bafana Bafana (Zulu for "the Boys"), played their first match, defeating Cameroon 1-0.

2 July 1994 - The Murder of Andrés Escobar

On 2 July 1994, Colombian defender Andrés Escobar died after being shot 12 times outside a bar in his hometown of Medellín.

Just 10 days previously, on 22 June, Escobar scored an own goal in a World Cup group stage match against the United States when, in the 34th minute, he misjudged a cross from American midfielder John Harkes and deflected it into his own net. The US doubled its lead in the 52d minute with a goal from midfielder Earnie Stewart, before Colombian striker Adolfo Valencia scored in the 89th minute. The match ended 2-1 and Colombia were subsequently eliminated from the tournament, despite winning their last group stage match against Switzerland.

Immediately after his murder, the media reported rampant speculation that the shooting was in response to Escobar's own goal, including theories that he had been targeted by drug lords or gambling syndicates who had bet heavily on Colombia to advance. There was also speculation that he had been killed by Colombians who were angered specifically by the loss to the United States, who was at that time involved in a long-running drug war against Colombia's cocaine trade.

In 1995, Humberto Muñoz Castro, identified by the New York Times as a driver/bodyguard for an unnamed "business executive," was convicted of Escobar's murder and sentenced to 43 years in prison. In 2005, however, he was released after serving only 11 years.

1 July 1976 - Striking Similarities

On 1 July 1976, two future Dutch internationals were born in the Netherlands - Patrick Kluivert in Amsterdam and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the city of Oss. In addition to sharing the same birthday, they share the same position - striker - and both were included on the FIFA 100, Pelé's March 2004 list of the greatest living footballers.

Kluivert was the first to rise to international prominence, debuting with the Ajax senior side in August 1994 at the age of 18. Ajax won the UEFA Champions League that season, with Kluivert coming off the bench to score the winning goal in the 85th minute in the Final against A.C. Milan. He joined Milan for a brief period in 1997-98, then transferred to Barcelona, where he made 255 appearances in all competitions, scoring 120 goals.

Van Nistelrooy, meanwhile, started his professional career at Dutch Second Division side Den Bosch, where he played from 1993 to 1997. He played the 1997-98 season with Herenveen in the Eredivisie, then moved to PSV Eindhoven, where he scored 75 goals in 91 appearances from 1998 to 2001, winning back-to-back Eredivisie titles in the last two seasons. He also secured individual honors as the Eredivisie top scorer in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and was twice named Dutch Player of the Year (1999, 2000). He continued to enjoy success with Manchester United (2001-06) and Real Madrid (2006-present).

Although their time on the Dutch national team overlapped, with Kluivert playing from 1994 to 2004 and van Nistelrooy from 1998 to 2008, they never played together for the Oranje in a major tournament. Van Nistlerooy did not play in the 1998 World Cup or UEFA Euro 2000, while Kluivert was on the bench for the entire UEFA Euro 2004 tournament and was left out of the 2006 World Cup squad.