SAFA urged to resolve Pitso Mosimane contract deadlock as McKenzie demands equal pay

South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has questioned why the South African Football Association (SAFA) has yet to finalise Pitso Mosimane’s appointment as Bafana Bafana head coach.

Speaking at the South African Sport Awards in Sun City on Sunday evening, 23 August 2026, McKenzie said he was confused by the delay after SAFA’s National Executive Committee (NEC) unanimously endorsed Mosimane to replace Hugo Broos on 8 August.

The minister strongly backed Mosimane, widely known as “Jingles”, and said the country’s most decorated local coach must be treated fairly financially. He also pointed to Mosimane’s three CAF Champions League titles as evidence of his standing in African football.

Although SAFA and Mosimane are understood to have reached an agreement in principle over an annual salary of R10 million, the deal has reportedly stalled because of unresolved legal and contractual issues rather than money.

Those issues are said to include control of Mosimane’s independent business interests. They reportedly cover his personal image rights, his soccer school programme, the members of his preferred technical backroom team and his independent media podcast.

With the contract still unsigned, SAFA has placed former Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki on standby as an interim manager. The arrangement is intended to ensure South Africa is able to prepare for the next international window while negotiations continue.

“You know, I don’t understand what’s going on. I’m going to get a report because I have been told that Pitso Mosimane is our [Bafana] coach,” McKenzie told journalists at the event.

He said the issue had to be viewed against the historical inequality experienced by black South Africans, while insisting that the same unfairness should not be repeated.

“We must be honest. We come from a country where black people were paid less than white people. Those scars haven’t healed for many people. But we, as black people, cannot do the same thing that has been done to us, where we pay the white man more.”

McKenzie also rejected any suggestion that Mosimane should be treated as a coach without the experience required for a national-team role.

“Pitso Mosimane is not an ABC Motsepe League coach. Let’s be straight about that issue. It’s like we are scared of white people, where we pay them more, but when it comes to black people, it’s a different story,” he added.

The minister said SAFA should at least match the salary Broos received when he began his tenure with Bafana Bafana.

“Pitso Mosimane should be paid. The least they could do is start him with the same salary they started with Hugo Broos. Black people are still hurt that they were underpaid and undervalued; we cannot have that.”

The dispute comes at a crucial stage for South Africa, with Bafana Bafana facing a limited amount of time to prepare for their CAF 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign.

South Africa are scheduled to host Guinea in their opening Group D match on Wednesday, 23 September 2026. The venue for that fixture has not yet been confirmed.

They will then travel to Egypt to face Eritrea on 27 September. The match cannot be staged in Asmara because Eritrea is serving a stadium ban.

Bafana Bafana are in a challenging Group D that also includes Kenya, one of the co-hosts of the tournament. South Africa are due to face Kenya in a high-stakes double-header block in November, adding to the urgency surrounding the appointment of a permanent head coach.

Until SAFA and Mosimane resolve the outstanding contractual matters, however, the association’s plans for the upcoming international fixtures remain uncertain.