Pitso Mosimane confirms talks with SAFA over possible Bafana Bafana role

Pitso Mosimane has confirmed he has held discussions with the South African Football Association (SAFA) about a potential “succession plan” for Bafana Bafana, as uncertainty continues to surround the future of current head coach Hugo Broos.

Broos’ contract is due to expire at the end of this month and there has been no official clarity on whether the Belgian will be offered a new deal or replaced. The 72-year-old guided South Africa to consecutive Africa Cup of Nations appearances and into the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup – their first progression to the knockout phase in 16 years – but his future remains unresolved.

Speaking in Johannesburg on Thursday at the launch of his Youth Football Coaching Manual, former Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly coach Mosimane confirmed he is among those who have been sounded out by SAFA.

Asked if he would be interested in the Bafana Bafana job, Mosimane replied: “Well, the Bafana job I don’t know when contracts of… I guess you’re talking about coach Hugo Broos right?

“I don’t know when the contract ends. Is it available or not? But I know that the federation has spoken to a lot of us about somebody to come in [with a] succession plan – What you want? What you going to do? What’s your plan? How do we take Bafana to a better level?”

Uncertainty over Broos despite SAFA denials

Speculation over the Bafana Bafana post intensified after Broos was quoted in Belgium recently as saying he would not be returning to South Africa as head coach.

SAFA quickly rejected suggestions that his departure was already decided, insisting those claims were inaccurate.

That was followed this week by a report from SABC Sport alleging Broos was in line for a one-year extension while SAFA continued to work on arrangements regarding his long-term successor. The association again moved swiftly to dismiss that story, leaving the situation around Broos’ position and any transition plan still unclear.

iDiski Times has reported that Mosimane is currently viewed as the leading candidate to take over should Broos step aside, although SAFA has not commented publicly on any individual names.

‘The bar can still be raised’

Mosimane, who won the CAF Champions League with Mamelodi Sundowns before enjoying further continental success with Al Ahly, believes that while Bafana Bafana have performed well on the global stage recently, the team is capable of achieving much more.

“I always say that it’s important to leave the jersey at a better place. Yeah, there’s room, right? There’s room for improvement. I left Sundowns with the Champions League, did they have the second one?

“So every stage and every level can be reached, can be improved. It’s not the first time we qualify for World Cup, right? Carlos Perreira did it, right? It’s not the first time we won the AFCON. Clive Barker won it, right?

“So we can maybe talk about going into the next round of knockouts. Yes, that we can celebrate. But being in semi-finals, quarter-finals, have we done that? Let’s be honest, right? So that bar, it is high, but has been achieved before.

“So we cannot just say, ‘oh, it’s a high bar and all that’. I mean, I left Sundowns. I won the treble, and they’ve won the league how many times after I left? So really, we can all do it, right? So no one is really we can say indispensable or what are we going to do? Come on, we can do a little bit better, right?”

Drawing on Bafana’s history

Mosimane also pointed to previous landmark performances from the national team to argue that challenging at the sharp end of major tournaments should be seen as an attainable target rather than an overachievement.

“Yes, I think with Perreira we never lost to Mexico, right? And we were one up, right, until the 80th minute, right? So come on, we played Mexico before right? So really, it’s not really that much that you can say, ‘wow, how big the bar has been’? No, we’ve beaten Morocco.

“We’re beating Nigeria. We’re beating Ghana. So let’s just also be realistic of the truth of what has happened. We can be there. We’ve been in the semi-finals of CAF, right? So anything is possible.

“We can raise the bar. Yes, we have to leave the jersey at a better place. But possible, yes, Why, because it has been done before.”

While Mosimane stopped short of declaring he will be the next Bafana Bafana coach, his confirmation that SAFA have approached him, combined with the ongoing lack of clarity over Broos’ contract situation, ensures the debate over who will lead South Africa into their next cycle of competitions will continue in the coming weeks.