On May 13, the South African Football Association (SAFA) officially confirmed the appointment of Pitso Mosimane as head coach of the national team, 24 days after the association approved the decision. Earlier, on May 8, SAFA President Danny Jordaan had said that some outstanding issues needed to be resolved, which extended the announcement timeline beyond expectations.
Mosimane, 62, replaces Belgian coach Hugo Broos, who retired at age 74 after guiding Bafana Bafana to the knockout stage of the World Cup in North America for the first time this year. This is Mosimane's second stint with the South African team, following an unsuccessful first spell from 2010 to 2012.
During his first tenure, South Africa under Mosimane failed to qualify for the 2012 AFCON, and he was dismissed after a home draw against Ethiopia in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. The team's failure at that AFCON was also controversial, as they celebrated what they thought was qualification before realizing they had misunderstood the head-to-head rules.
Despite that, Mosimane has enjoyed considerable success at club level. He has won the CAF Champions League once with Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) and twice with Al Ahly (Egypt). He has also claimed the CAF Super Cup three times. With a total of six continental titles, Mosimane is the most successful Black coach in CAF club competitions. The record of eight CAF titles still belongs to Portuguese coach Manuel Jose, who led Al Ahly.
After three seasons at Al Ahly, Mosimane worked in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran. His new contract with South Africa runs until the 2030 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.
Mosimane's immediate task is to prepare for the first match of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Guinea at home, just 23 days away. Although Guinea did not qualify for the 2025 AFCON, they boast one of Africa's finest strikers currently playing in Europe: Serhou Guirassy of Borussia Dortmund.
