Safa still to announce new Bafana Bafana coach as 2027 Afcon qualifiers loom

Bafana Bafana are set to begin their quest to qualify for a third successive Africa Cup Nations (Afcon) tournament in just under a month.

The team’s quest to coompete in the 2027 Afcon (which will be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) begins in late September, with clashes against Guinea and Eritrea on 23 and 27 September respectively. They play Kenya in November.  

Yet, following the departure of Belgian tactician Hugo Broos after a five-year stay in South Africa, the senior men’s national soccer side still does not formally have a coach.

The South African Football Association (Safa) knew for months before Broos’s departure that the 74-year-old would not stay on. Broos had expressed that at his age, being away from his Belgium-based family was not easy. He had stated clearly and concisely that the Bafana Bafana job would most likely be his last; as a head coach at least.

In fact, Jack Maluleke, chairperson of Safa’s technical committee, told journalists in May 2026 that the federation had begun the search for Broos’s successor.  

“We have opened the process [to recruit a new coach]. If Hugo Broos has interest to continue, he will have to make a presentation [to Safa] to say, ‘I’m available.’ We won’t close that space. But we are aware that immediately after the World Cup, the team must proceed towards the future,” Maluleke said. 

Reports of Broos staying

In July, reports circulated that Safa was trying to convince Broos to remain at the helm for another year after he had qualified Bafana Bafana for their first World Cup in 16 years.

The custodian of South African soccer vehemently denied this. “Safa has learnt with concern of reports and rumours being circulated by respected media houses alleging that Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has been offered or issued with a one-year contract extension. Safa wishes to categorically state that these reports are false, unfounded and misleading,” the federation said,

Then on 31 July, Broos officially bid farewell to South African soccer after fulfilling his mandate to restore pride to Bafana Bafana. Owing to multiple failures to qualify for major competitions, the team had become not just a joke globally and continentally, but even among South Africans. However, under Broos that tune changed tremendously. Perhaps that is why Safa was hoping to convince the Belgian to remain.  

However, this has caused delays in the appointment of Broos’s successor and there remains uncertainty as to who will be on the Bafana Bafana bench when they begin their Afcon 2027 qualification journey. 

Pitso Mosimane saga

Pitso Mosimane had long been heavily linked with the vacant post, and in August, Safa’s national executive committee (NEC) endorsed his appointment. He was one of a handful of candidates that Maluleke’s team had spoken to.  

“The NEC has approved the appointment of coach Pitso to Bafana Bafana, but we still need to tie up some loose ends. We will make a formal announcement of the coach next week,” Safa president Danny Jordaan announced on 8 August.

Weeks later, negotiations between Mosimane and Safa are still ongoing. Initially they stalled because Safa offered the experienced South African coach an annual salary of R5-million. This package has since been doubled. However, it remains much less than R1.4-million a month that Broos was receiving by the time his Bafana Bafana contract expired. 

Mosimane previously coached Bafana Bafana between 2010 to 2012. A huge blemish during his tenure was when the team failed to qualify for that year’s Afcon, despite celebrating as if they had done so. 

Bafana Bafana played their final qualifier against Sierra Leone in October 2011, earning a 0-0 stalemate. Mosimane and his players believed that finishing tied on points with Niger and holding a superior goal difference meant they automatically secured qualification.

However, Confederation of African Football rules dictated that head-to-head records between the tied teams took precedence over overall goal difference. Because Niger held the better head-to-head record, South Africa was eliminated.    

Of course, Mosimane has extensively expanded his CV since then. He has graduated from a prospect in the coaching profession to one Africa’s greatest coaches. 

After eight successful years at Mamelodi Sundowns from 2012 to 2020, Mosimane joined Al Ahly. During his tenure, he led the African heavyweights to three African Champions League finals on the trot; winning two. This added to his first Champions League title, which he won with Sundowns in 2016.

After leaving Al Ahly, he coached in the Middle East. His first foray into the Gulf was in 2022 when he worked at Al-Ahli in Jeddah. He took the club from the second tier to the top flight, before resigning in mid-2023. His most recent coaching stint was with Iranian club Esteghlal, which he left in 2025. He has been unattached since, focusing on his academy and starting a podcast. 

Negotiations between himself and Safa are still ongoing. But time is running out as the Afcon qualifiers loom. Safa’s indecisiveness may cost Bafana Bafana in the qualification process. DM