BREAKING: Pitso Mosimane Officially Returns as Bafana Bafana Head Coach
Pitso Mosimane is officially back.
The South African Football Association has unveiled the decorated South African tactician as the new head coach of Bafana Bafana, bringing weeks of speculation and negotiations over the national team’s leadership to an end.
Mosimane was formally presented at SAFA House in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 1 September 2026.
He succeeds Hugo Broos, whose five-year tenure ended following South Africa’s historic campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Broos departed after guiding Bafana Bafana into the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in the country’s history.
Pitso Mosimane returns to Bafana Bafana
The appointment marks an extraordinary return to the national team for one of the most successful coaches African football has produced.
Mosimane previously served as permanent Bafana Bafana head coach between 2010 and 2012.
That first spell ended painfully when SAFA dismissed him following South Africa’s struggles in qualification.
Fourteen years later, he returns with a dramatically different reputation.
After leaving Bafana, Mosimane transformed himself into one of the continent’s most decorated coaches.
His greatest success came with Mamelodi Sundowns F.C., where he built a dominant side and captured multiple domestic championships.
The defining achievement arrived in 2016 when Mosimane guided Sundowns to the CAF Champions League title.
He later moved to Egyptian giants Al Ahly SC and won back-to-back CAF Champions League titles, further cementing his status among Africa’s elite coaches.
Now he is returning to where one of the most difficult chapters of his coaching career unfolded.
Bafana Bafana.
Weeks of uncertainty finally over
Mosimane’s appointment had been anticipated after SAFA’s National Executive Committee approved him as its preferred candidate in August.
But the deal was not immediately completed.
SAFA president Danny Jordaan previously said several outstanding matters still needed to be resolved before an official announcement could be made.
Those negotiations fuelled weeks of speculation about whether the highly decorated coach would ultimately take the job.
Tuesday’s unveiling finally ended the uncertainty.
Mosimane is the Bafana Bafana coach.
He inherits a completely different Bafana
Perhaps the biggest difference between Mosimane’s first and second spells is the condition of the national team he inherits.
This is not a Bafana side attempting to rebuild from the bottom.
Broos leaves behind a team that has restored significant credibility to South African football.
Under the Belgian, Bafana finished third at the Africa Cup of Nations before eventually qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
South Africa then advanced to the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time.
Mosimane therefore inherits both opportunity and enormous expectation.
He is taking control of a national team whose supporters increasingly believe it can compete with Africa’s strongest football nations.
AFCON qualification challenge starts immediately
Mosimane will have little time for celebration.
His first major assignment is already approaching.
South Africa are scheduled to begin their qualification campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations at the end of September.
Bafana will begin with a home encounter against Guinea before travelling for an away qualifier against Eritrea.
The tournament will be hosted jointly by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
That gives Mosimane only weeks to assemble his technical team, evaluate the squad inherited from Broos and implement his football philosophy before competitive international football begins.
From being fired to being brought back
The symbolism surrounding Mosimane’s return is difficult to ignore.
SAFA dismissed him in 2012.
Mosimane subsequently built one of the most impressive managerial résumés in African club football.
He conquered South Africa.
He conquered Africa.
He won continental titles with Sundowns and Al Ahly.
He coached across the Middle East.
And now the same national team job that ended painfully more than a decade ago has brought him home.
Few coaching careers offer such a dramatic full-circle moment.
Huge expectations await Mosimane
Mosimane will also face pressure created by his own success.
South African supporters know what he has achieved at club level.
His tactical ability, continental experience and familiarity with South African football mean expectations surrounding this appointment will be substantial.
Simply stabilising Bafana may no longer be enough.
Broos has raised the standard.
South Africa have returned to the World Cup knockout stages.
The country has once again become competitive at AFCON.
Mosimane’s challenge is to take that progress further.
A new Bafana era begins
Fourteen years after his first permanent spell ended, Pitso Mosimane has been given another opportunity to lead his country.
This time he returns with CAF Champions League trophies, domestic championships and years of international coaching experience behind him.
His first objective is already clear: qualify South Africa for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and preserve the momentum created under Hugo Broos.
But beyond qualification lies a much larger question.
Can one of Africa’s most successful coaches turn an improving Bafana Bafana into genuine continental champions?
South Africa is about to find out.
Pitso Mosimane is officially back in charge of Bafana Bafana.
