Jordaan sets Mosimane clear targets for South Africa’s next era

South Africa’s new head coach Pitso Mosimane has been tasked with competing strongly at the Africa Cup of Nations and guiding Bafana Bafana to qualification for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan says.

Mosimane is returning to the South Africa senior men’s national team after 14 years, replacing Hugo Broos, who leaves the side in a strong position. Bafana Bafana are ranked 54th in the world and 10th in Africa.

Jordaan says those rankings provide a platform for Mosimane and his technical team, but has made clear that SAFA expects the team to continue progressing while preparing for the next major international challenges.

The 2030 FIFA World Cup is the central long-term objective. The tournament will be hosted by Portugal, Spain and Morocco, with Morocco making it the second World Cup staged on the African continent.

“CAF will introduce a new competition called the African Nations League, you know the old CHAN tournament will now be scrapped. There won’t be CHAN again but in its place there will be a competition called the Nations League which is a major competition and will run over two years and we hope that we’ll make a bid to host the final of the Nationals League,” Jordaan said.

He said the proposed African Nations League would become an important part of the international calendar after the Confederation of African Football ended the CHAN tournament. The competition will run over two years, and SAFA hopes to submit a bid to host its final.

“Then finally in 2030 is the major objective for SAFA and that is the 2030 World Cup which will be held in Portugal, Spain and Morocco. It’s the second time that there will be a World Cup competition on the African continent and of course it will be a huge honour for us as the previous host to participate in Africa’s second World Cup and those are the main areas of focus and where we want Bafana to go.”

Under Broos, Bafana Bafana’s participation in the COSAFA Cup and CHAN was managed either by his assistant Helmand Mkhalele or by coaches from South Africa’s junior national teams.

The introduction of the Nations League means Mosimane and his technical staff will decide how the senior team approaches the COSAFA Cup and other development competitions.

Jordaan described the COSAFA Cup as a chance for players to move towards senior international football, rather than necessarily a tournament that must be handled by the first-choice squad.

“Then you of course have the COSAFA Cup in our view, an opportunity for the next level of players to graduate into international competitions and those are matters that we leave to the coach,” he added.

The new coach will assess players who are close to breaking into the senior side and decide which of them should be given opportunities in international competition.

“He will sort out the players that he wants to see as borderline players to give an opportunity to break into international competitions and we of course are in support of whatever he decides about that competition.”