Pitso Mosimane Appointed Bafana Bafana Coach After World Cup Success

JOHANNESBURG – Pitso Mosimane is heading back to the Bafana Bafana dugout, this time as the man trusted to turn a historic World Cup run into something more permanent.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) has approved Mosimane’s appointment as the new national team coach following the departure of Hugo Broos, backing a figure who has long loomed over the job as the obvious next step.

The decision was ratified at a SAFA National Executive Committee meeting, where members endorsed Mosimane to take charge of the side that stunned the continent – and plenty beyond it – by reaching the knockout rounds of the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first time in the country’s history.

That campaign, anchored by discipline and defiance, peaked with a memorable win over South Korea, a result that shifted Bafana from plucky participants to genuine contenders. It also sharpened the debate: who would be bold enough, and experienced enough, to build on that platform once Broos moved on?

SAFA has now answered.

There are still a few administrative details to be tied up before the deal is formally unveiled, but the association expects to make an official announcement next week. The wait is more about paperwork than doubt; the direction of travel is clear.

For Mosimane, it is a return with unfinished business. He first stepped into the role in a caretaker capacity in 2007, then held the job from 2010 to 2012, a period that offered glimpses of his tactical acumen without ever delivering the sustained success he has since gone on to enjoy at club level.

Now he inherits a national team that has finally broken through a psychological barrier on the global stage. The question is no longer whether South Africa can compete at a World Cup. It is whether Mosimane can turn a landmark moment into a new standard.