Pitso Mosimane Returns as Bafana Bafana Head Coach
Pitso Mosimane is back in charge of Bafana Bafana.
The 62-year-old has been reappointed as head coach of South Africa’s men’s national team, returning to a job he last held between July 2010 and June 2012. He steps in for Hugo Broos, who left at the end of July when his contract expired after five years at the helm.
Broos departs with credit. The Belgian guided South Africa to a third-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and took them into the last 32 of this year’s World Cup – their first appearance at the finals since they hosted the tournament in 2010. That run reset expectations around the national side. Mosimane now inherits a team that has rediscovered its competitive edge on the continent and beyond.
The South African Football Association’s executive committee approved Mosimane’s return on 8 August. Only on Tuesday, though, did the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach step back into the spotlight, unveiled to the media in Johannesburg after ironing out the final details of his contract and assembling his technical team. The length of his new deal remains under wraps.
His first spell in charge still carries scars. South Africa failed to qualify for the 2012 Afcon after misreading the qualification rules and playing for a draw in their final group game against Sierra Leone, believing a point would be enough. It wasn’t. The fallout from that miscalculation lingered.
Mosimane’s tenure ended in June 2012 after a 1-1 home draw against Ethiopia in the opening qualifier for the 2014 World Cup. By then, pressure had built, and the federation chose to move on.
He rebuilt his reputation in club football. At Mamelodi Sundowns and then at Egyptian giants Al Ahly, Mosimane turned into one of Africa’s most decorated coaches, lifting the African Champions League three times. His work on the touchline, his command in big games, and his ability to manage star-studded dressing rooms pushed his profile far beyond South Africa’s borders.
That success opened doors in the Gulf. More recently, he has taken charge of sides in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Iran, adding fresh tactical experiences and different football cultures to his résumé.
Now he walks back into a national team set-up transformed by Broos’s achievements but still hungry for more. The question is simple and stark: can Mosimane turn continental pedigree and World Cup respectability into a sustained era of success for Bafana Bafana?
