'Safa are saying they are shortlisting coaches but only one coach must lead Bafana - Pitso Mosimane', McKenzie told SABC Sport on Thursday morning.
Pitso Mosimane has received the backing of Gayton McKenzie to be the next Bafana head coach. Picture: Phakamisa Lensman/BackpagePix
Gayton McKenzie has backed Pitso Mosimane to be the next Bafana Bafana head coach.
McKenzie on Pitso – ‘We need a person that understands our boys’
The Minister for Sport, Arts and Culture was speaking to SABC Sport at OR Tambo International airport ahead of Bafana’s arrival back in the country following their exit from the 2026 Fifa World Cup finals.
“Safa are saying they are shortlisting coaches but only one coach must lead Bafana – Pitso Mosimane.
“We need a person who understands our boys. What more do you want Pitso to do? I put my wage as Minister of Sport behind Pitso. We see France now playing with Didier Deschamps, playing their soccer.
“Our players are young, we will unearth a lot of players, Pitso Mosimane will take Bafana forward.”
McKenzie says he has spoken to both Safa president Danny Jordaan and Mosimane himself about the matter.
“I had conversations with Danny Jordaan … and with Pitso,” he added.
“Pitso got many (other offers) and I said ‘don’t take them’. We need Pitso now. You want to bring someone in who speaks French and the players don’t know French? We can’t have that.”
Current Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has appeared to be undecided of late over whether he will leave the post after guiding Bafana into the knockout stages of a Fifa World Cup finals for the first time.
South Africa were ultimately knocked out by Canada on Sunday in the last 32.
The fans turned out in their numbers at OR Tambo International on Thursday morning to welcome the team home.
‘This is also for coach Hugo’
“Thank you to all these people. We must get what time of the morning it is,” added McKenzie.
“Some have been here since half past three (in the morning). Some came from other provinces. It means so much that people came. We must say thank you to all the South Africans here and to people who didn’t make it.
“This is also for coach Hugo,” added McKenzie.
“What coach Hugo has done for us, no one has ever done for us. Before coach Hugo came Bafana were a joke. No one wore the Bafana shirt. Coach Hugo helped turn things around. We are now in the same league as Germany and Japan, who were knocked out (of the World Cup) at the same level as us.
“Nigeria didn’t qualify (for the World Cup), we qualified. South Korea were knocked out (by Bafana in the group stages), we were not knocked out.”
