Fourteen years after one of the most embarrassing exits in South African football history, Pitso Mosimane has been handed the keys to Bafana Bafana again. SAFA confirmed the appointment on Tuesday, with Mosimane signing a five-year deal — a significant show of faith from an association that's been burned before.
The last time Mosimane was in this job, it ended with Bafana playing for a draw against Sierra Leone, miscalculating the qualification math, and missing the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations entirely. He survived that. He didn't survive the 1-1 draw against Ethiopia that followed in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. By June 2012 he was out, with no wins in his final seven matches.
A vastly different CV, a very different expectation
That was then. The Mosimane who returns in 2025 has three CAF Champions League titles on his shelf — won with Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly — and experience across Egypt and the Middle East. He's not the promising local coach who stumbled under pressure anymore. He's one of the most decorated managers African football has produced.
Whether that translates back to international football is a genuine question. Club management and national team management are entirely different disciplines. His record from 2010 to 2012 — six wins, seven draws, three defeats across 16 matches — was unimpressive precisely when it mattered most.
His backroom staff is taking shape: Musi Matlaba and Kabelo Rangoaga confirmed, with an assistant and goalkeeper coach still to be added. The technical structure matters more than many give it credit for at international level, where prep time is short and squad harmony is everything.
Group D and the Benni McCarthy subplot
Mosimane won't be easing in gently. Bafana's 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign begins this month, with South Africa drawn in Group D alongside Guinea, Eritrea and Kenya. The Kenya fixture comes with its own narrative — Benni McCarthy is now in charge of the East African side, setting up a home-and-away double-header in November that will get far more attention than a routine qualifier normally would.
Guinea are the real test of the group. Eritrea offer points on paper. The Kenya clashes will generate headlines. But how Bafana actually perform — in terms of structure, intensity and consistency — will tell you quickly whether Mosimane's appointment is a nostalgia play or a genuine reset.
- Mosimane's first spell: July 2010 – June 2012, 16 matches, W6 D7 L3
- New deal length: five years
- Group D opponents: Guinea, Eritrea, Kenya
- First match: vs Guinea in September (date and venue TBC)
- Second match: vs Eritrea, early October
- November double-header: home and away vs Benni McCarthy's Kenya
Hugo Broos, the Belgian who preceded him, took Bafana to the 2026 World Cup. That's the benchmark Mosimane is being measured against before he's even named his first squad.
