As expected, Pitso Mosimane has been appointed as the new Bafana Bafana head coach following the departure of Belgium’s Hugo Broos, reports The Citizen.

Broos left his post after the conclusion of the Fifa World Cup, which was co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. The Belgian led South Africa to the knockout round of the global showpiece for the first time in their history. 

Mosimane and some members of his technical team were unveiled during a press conference at Safa House in Nasrec today (September 1). 

The 62-year-old returns to the Bafana hotseat for a second permanent stint in charge of the national team, having previously led the national team from 2010 to 2012. He was released by the SA Football Association (Safa) after South Africa failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. 

Speaking during his unveiling, Mosimane thanked his predecessor, Broos, for the good foundation he laid with Bafana. 

“Coach Hugo Broos has laid a very good foundation. I’ve been saying this for some time, not only today; I have said it many times before. He has laid a good foundation for me, and I appreciate the work he has done with Bafana,” said Mosimane when asked by a journalist to respond to Broos’s comment that Bafana will ‘go five years back in time’ if Safa appoints a local coach. 

Mosimane’s immediate task will be to prepare Bafana for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying campaign. 

Bafana Bafana are scheduled to face Guinea and Eritrea in back-to-back Afcon qualifiers next month as they begin their campaign for a place at the continental tournament. 

Mosimane said he will not be making many changes to the squad that qualified for the world cup. 

“Of course, we have players like [Samukele] Kabini who went to the world cup, but were not given the chance to play, so we want to give players like that a chance. But we’re playing the qualifiers next, so [the bulk of the squad] will be made up of the players that went to the world cup. Fortunately, there’s a friendly straight after the two qualifiers, so we’ll give other players a chance,” commented Mosimane. 

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