Legendary South African coach Pitso Mosimane is salivating for an opportunity to coach AFCON-bound Bafana Bafana insisting, 'There’s no better time than now'

In the last couple of years, Bafana Bafana have been doing well in continental football thanks to the quality within the Premier Soccer League, which is currently among the best in Africa.

Since taking over the coaching of the team, coach Hugo Broos has helped South Africa qualify for back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the first time in their history.

In the 2023 edition, they finished third, with hosts Ivory Coast claiming the title after beating the then-favorites Nigeria in the final.

Two years later, South Africa are back seeking continental glory, as opposed to the previous edition when they came in as mere participants and surpassed the expectations of many by finishing the tournament in third place. 

The 73-year-old Belgian further helped Bafana Bafana to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup that will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The former Cameroon coach has confirmed he will quit coaching after the World Cup, explaining why other tacticians hope to get a chance to succeed a well-oiled team.

One of the coaches interested in getting the mantle from Broos is the celebrated South African coach Pitso Mosimane.

The 61-year-old is not new to the South Africa fold; he first came in as a caretaker in 2007 before the appointment of Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira, for whom he was an assistant coach. 

'Jingles' was also the assistant to Joel Santana before getting the full mandate to coach the national team from 2010 in a four-year deal. However, he was fired for failing to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

The tactician has now expressed his desire to take over from Hugo Broos.

“There’s no any other better time to coach Bafana than now,” he told MSW.

“We have a good generation of under-20s, under-17s. South Africa is in a good spot, but sometimes we forget that we’ve been in this space before," Mosimane added.

He, however, insists that he will only take over when the project is right.

“Yes, I’m available for a good project, but you can’t just say, ‘Okay we drew yesterday, now let’s get him and then we draw again, and then we can’t fix it’.

“Those things, I’m not in line with them," he concluded.

Bafana Bafana assistant coach Helman Mkhalele has initially expressed his desire to take over as Bafana Bafana's head coach once he acquires his CAF A license. 

"I would like to first thank LeFA, the Lesotho Football Association, for creating the opportunity for me to be part of these students [for CAF A] because it's not an easy thing, especially for a foreign coach to come and be provided with an opportunity to gain knowledge," he stated in his recent interview.

"Because while I'm here as a coach, it is important that, number one, you have the necessary skills and knowledge on how to develop players.

"For me as a coach, I've also been working at a national team at the senior level, so it is important that I have the right qualifications.

"So I'm here to get a qualification, which is not the main objective. The main objective is to acquire knowledge and skills that I can apply in developing football," Mkhalele continued. 

"I have aspirations to be a head coach one day, but the challenge is that CAF have made rules that you can't lead a team if you do not have a CAF A Licence diploma.

"So, for me to be able to fulfil my dream of leading a team one day, it is important to acquire this licence, even though the most important thing is to acquire the necessary knowledge and skill to have a positive and efficient contribution in the development of football," the former attacker added.

SAFA have to find a tactician who will continue to develop Mzansi football as Broos has done since taking over.

It will be a shame to bring someone who will come with selfish agendas and the country end up paying the price.

Broos can be part of the committee to vet a new coach who will have to align himself with the ambitions of SAFA and the South African people as a whole.