Hugo Broos backs SAFA’s National Teams Identity workshop as key to 'making South Africa great again' ahead of 2026 World Cup finals

The South African Football Association held a three-day National Teams Identity workshop at Nasrec, Johannesburg. According to the association, the programme was attended by national teams’ technical staff and FIFA officials.

With so many issues affecting the national teams - from technical mistakes in the men’s setup and disorganisation in the women’s programme to refereeing problems in the Premier Soccer League - SAFA is expected to improve.

The stakes are higher than ever, with Bafana Bafana set to represent South Africa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an opportunity the country hopes to see more often.

The initiative was led by former Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki, and it left current coach Hugo Broos pleased, as the programme provided a platform for the team’s technical staff to clarify and align on key issues.

"I have to say I'm very happy that our TD [Technical Director] took the initiative to organise those three days. I think it's the first time in the five years I've been coaching that I met every member of the staff of every national team,” Broos said, as per SABC Sports.

“We had the opportunity to speak about our problems, to speak about football, to seek how we can solve the problems in the future, and I think that is the best thing to do."

The Belgian coach also reflected on past challenges and expressed hope that the initiative continues to drive progress in South African football.

“There was a lack of communication in the past between the different parties and different teams. I think we started now with it, and I hope it can happen again in the future," Broos added.

“It's the only way to progress; it's the only way to become a better team, to know the problems of the other teams. To share ideas with each other, and to use the words of the CEO, I think it's the best thing to make South Africa great again."

SAFA Technical Director Ntseki also elaborated on the objectives of the initiative.

"SAFA is us; there is no SAFA without us. If ever we are complaining about SAFA, it means we are complaining about ourselves. If the outside world is complaining about SAFA, it's complaining about us, ourselves, South Africans,” Ntseki explained.

“So, let us all make it happen that as South Africans, we are going to be seen to be a country that is football-driven. A country of success, as we were discussing in the past three days, we are happy, and we are done with the qualifications."

“We want to take our qualifications to the next level, and we can't be taking our qualifications to the next level if we don't have these technical conversations. The technical conversations have started. We have made the declaration that every month we are going to have these types of conversations virtually because we all know that it's not gonna be easy all the time for clubs to release their employees to come to SAFA to have these technical conversations," he added.

“So, wherever our members of our technical team will be, we will be having those technical conversations."