Pitso Mosimane Returns as Bafana Bafana Coach for AFCON 2027
The call has gone out again. South African football has turned back to one of its most decorated sons.
The South African Football Association has reappointed Pitso Mosimane as head coach of the national team, handing the 60-year-old the reins just weeks before the start of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
He replaces Hugo Broos, the Belgian who had been in charge, and walks into a job loaded with expectation rather than sentiment. This is not a farewell tour. It is a rescue job with a clear target: reach the continental finals and compete properly when they get there.
A serial winner back in national colours
Mosimane returns with a coaching CV that few on the continent can match. Across his career he has stacked up 20 trophies, building a reputation as a demanding, tactically sharp coach who knows how to navigate high-pressure campaigns.
Three of those titles came in the CAF Champions League – the benchmark of African club football. He lifted the trophy once with Mamelodi Sundowns, transforming them into a modern powerhouse, and twice with Egyptian giants Al Ahly, where he handled the relentless scrutiny that comes with the job and still delivered.
At home, his dominance was relentless. Mosimane claimed five South African league titles, setting standards that reshaped expectations around domestic success. His work in the Premier Soccer League turned him into the obvious reference point whenever Bafana Bafana needed authority and know-how on the touchline.
The success did not stop at the country’s borders. Coaching spells with Al Ahli Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Al Wahda in the UAE and Abha in Saudi Arabia expanded his footprint, before a recent stint at Iran’s Esteghlal underlined his willingness to test himself in different football cultures.
Timing that tells its own story
The decision to move now is not accidental. With AFCON 2027 qualifying about to begin, SAFA has chosen experience over experiment. Mosimane is being asked to steady the ship quickly, then push it into deeper waters.
There is no long bedding-in period. No gentle introduction.
His second tenure starts with a trip straight into competitive action: South Africa open their campaign against Guinea on 26 September. Four days later, on 30 September, they meet Eritrea. Those early fixtures will set the tone for a group in which dropped points can linger for years.
Then come the key tests in November – home and away against Kenya. By then, Mosimane will have had just enough time to stamp some structure, but not enough to hide behind long-term plans. Results will speak loudly.
SAFA’s message is clear: this is a coach who has lifted Champions League trophies, managed egos at superclubs and navigated title races across different countries. Now he is being asked to channel all of that into one task – drag Bafana Bafana back into the heart of Africa’s elite.
The question is no longer whether Pitso Mosimane is big enough for the job. It is whether South Africa can rise quickly enough to match the scale of his ambition.
