Mosimane receives SAFA approval for Bafana job

Pitso Mosimane during the SAFA Press Conference at the SAFA House, Johannesburg on the 18 August 2022 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix Pitso Mosimane is on the verge of making a sensational return to the Bafana Bafana hotseat after the South African Football Association (SAFA) National Executive Committee (NEC) endorsed him for the head coaching position. Mosimane has emerged as the preferred candidate to replace Hugo Broos, whose contract with SAFA expired last month after he guided Bafana Bafana to a historic last 32 finish at the FIFA World Cup. The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al-Ahly coach will now return to the national team more than a decade after his first stint in charge.

He is currently unattached following a stint with Iranian club Esteghlal which ended in January 2025. Following an extraordinary NEC meeting at SAFA House on Saturday, the association confirmed that Mosimane had been approved for the position, although some final details still need to be resolved. “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 said in a statement. Mosimane previously coached Bafana between 2010 and 2012 after serving as an assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreira and Joel Santana during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup respectively. The 62-year-old is one of the most decorated coaches on the African continent, having enjoyed remarkable success at club level.

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He led Sundowns to their first CAF Champions League triumph in 2016 before guiding Egyptian giants Ahly to back-to-back continental titles in 2020 and 2021. Should his appointment be formally confirmed, Mosimane’s immediate focus will be on steering Bafana through their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. South Africa are set to begin their AFCON qualification campaign in September after being drawn alongside Kenya, Guinea and Eritrea, with the tournament to be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Mosimane’s return would usher in a new era for Bafana as he looks to build on the progress made under Broos and establish South Africa as a force on the continent once again. Meanwhile, the SAFA NEC was also briefed on preparations for the association’s elective congress, which is scheduled to take place on September 12.

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