Johannesburg - The South African Football Association are delighted with Bafana Bafana's continued rise towards their aim of becoming the number one ranked country in Africa.

Coach Pitso Mosimane's side moved up one place in the FIFA rankings, that were released on Wednesday, following their 2-0 win over Kenya in an international friendly in Rustenburg last month.

South Africa now stand at 46th in the world and ninth in Africa, compared to 66th in the world and 11th on the continent when Mosimane took the reigns.

SAFA vice-president Mandla "Shoes" Mazibuko: "We are inspired by the continuous upward movement of Bafana Bafana on the FIFA rankings, especially a few days before the big match against Egypt."

Bafana host the Pharaohs at Ellis Park for a crucial 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on March 26.

"When we (new SAFA leaders) took over we made it clear that our first objective was to see to it that the team reclaim the No 1 spot in Africa and we are getting there, " Mazibuko continued.

"It is wonderful to see that Bafana Bafana are consistent in terms of improving the rankings since coach Pitso took over. It is also good that the FIFA and CAF rankings are released in the same week as we launched the Level 3 professional coaching licence.

"We want to congratulate Pitso and the team for the job well done and we will continue to do all we can to support them," he said.