Pitso Mosimane, a highly successful coach, wants to lead South Africa’s Bafana Bafana. He has big demands, like full control and a long contract, to get them to the World Cup. SAFA, the football association, needs to hire a new coach soon as the current one leaves in 2026. Many people want Pitso because of his amazing wins, but his high salary and past issues make SAFA hesitate. If SAFA doesn’t act fast, they might miss out on their best chance for success as other teams want Pitso too.
Mosimane has expressed interest in coaching Bafana Bafana, outlining a four-year mandate, authority over youth pathways, and a World Cup-qualification clause. However, as of now, no official contract has been signed with SAFA, leaving the offer on the table unaccepted.
The last page of Hugo Broos’ 2026 calendar is already torn off in pencil.
His employment with South African football expires at 23:59 on 31 December 2026, forty-eight hours after the final whistle of the World Cup in North America.
That is not speculation; it is the hard stop written into the Belgian’s deal, and SAFA has no option but to replace him or stumble into the 2027 Cup of Nations qualifiers with a caretaker nobody voted for.
Inside SAFA House the date glows like a red traffic light.
Recruitment documents are being typed now, not “after the World Cup.”
Head-hunters have been warned that the short-list must be ready before the 2026 Nations Cup warm-ups begin, because any delay gifts rival federations a head start on the one coach who can sell hope and victories in the same sentence.
Talk-radio voters keep swinging between “hire a local legend” and “import a European professor,” yet one dossier already renders the argument obsolete.
Pitso Mosimane is still the only African to lift the Champions League and Super Cup twice each, and the only coach from the continent to stand on a FIFA Club World Cup podium, bronze medal in hand, flanked by Bayern Munich and Palmeiras in 2020.
Those lines are not bullet-points; they are neon billboards that SAFA cannot unsee when the job advert literally demands “win on the biggest stage.”
He has since banked nineteen major trophies, spoken on UEFA panels with Klopp, and built a contact book that stretches from Cairo to the Gulf.
Locally, his salary expectations make administrators sweat, yet globally he remains cheaper than an average mid-table La-Liga coach – a nuance sponsors already whisper about in revenue meetings.
On 14 May, millions of listeners heard Mosimane tell Robert Marawa that “coaching Bafana now makes more sense than ever,” before rattling off the under-17 and under-20 squads like a man who has already selected his first provisional list.
The segment sounded like a campaign ad; boardrooms heard an invoice.
He wants a minimum four-year mandate, authority over youth pathways, and a World Cup-qualification performance clause – nothing less, nothing vague.
Translation: he expects to chair the safe as well as drive the car.
So far the phone has not rung back, and every silent day is currency for Gulf federations preparing January-2027 offers worth USD 5 million tax-free.
His first national tenure (2010-2012) ended in a fog of denials and a missed ticket to the 2012 Afcon, but the scenery has shifted.
In 2010 Sundowns’ annual playing budget was smaller than today’s Bafana hotel bill; now the Brazilians out-spend most Europa-League clubs, proving that South African football can move money when it chooses.
Back then Mosimane was an international rookie; today he lands with two Champions-League medals swinging from his neck and a tactical archive that flips between 4-3-3 and 3-5-2 before half-time.
The player pool has also mutated.
The 2010 group was a bridge generation stuck between the 1996 heroes and the post-World Cup exodus.
The 2026 locker-room is a continental collage – Eindhoven graduates who still text their Kayelitsha teammates – exactly the diaspora hybrid Mosimane has managed for the last decade.
At Al Ahly he turned Afsha into a free-eight who pressed like Firmino and finished like Lampard, then won a Club World-Cup medal doing it.
At Sundowns he engineered a 3-4-1-2 “diamond back-three” that turned full-backs into mezzalas and forced rivals to throw away their whiteboards.
Broos has stayed loyal to 4-2-3-1 with double-pivot insurance; Mosimane wants to invert the triangle, order centre-backs who split past the halfway line, and mould Evidence Makgopa into a pressing nine who triggers the press instead of delaying it.
It is daring, and it would divide a dressing-room that still remembers Stuart Baxter’s safety sermons, yet it is also the first time South Africa could enter a tournament with a game model opponents have to prepare for, not politely tolerate.
He does not arrive with a discount sticker.
Al Ahly’s last package reported USD 2.4 million net, plus image-rights that surged when he hit the Club World-Cup semi-final.
Even a 40 % “home-town” haircut still swallows three-quarters of the current senior-team budget, so treasurers gulp when the spreadsheet pops open.
Then there is ego.
Some SAFA committee members still smart from a 2019 Cairo presser where Mosimane reminded South Africa that “the continent respects me even if my own country doesn’t.”
They would rather gamble on a coach who signs a thirty-day performance review than crown a celebrity who names his own exit date.
Helman Mkhalele rides the sentimental wave: 1996 Afcon-final scorer, speaks every official language, and will accept staggered bonuses plus SAFA-appointed assistants – in short, manageable, affordable, controllable.
Benni McCarthy has vanished from headlines since leaving Manchester United in July 2024, yet he completes his UEFA Pro Licence in Belfast and tells friends he is waiting for “one of two African jobs,” one being Bafana.
He offers Premier-League brand power and an open channel to Europe-based stars, but only eighteen months of senior-coach experience, a risk quotient SAFA still equates with potential humiliation.
Mosimane’s representatives have floated a private-public split: 60 % from orthodox sponsors (MTN, Castle, Nike) and 40 % backed by Patrice Motsepe’s African Football Investment vehicle, convertible to equity in a future SAFA commercial arm.
It is radical, possibly on the edge of FIFA statute, yet mirrors the creative financing that lured him to Al Ahly when their coffers were bare but their ambition limitless.
Meanwhile, SAFA media staff have already mocked up a home-coming spectacle: drummers from Orlando West Intermediate, supersized screens flashing “Pitso 2.0,” the full Queiroz-style welcome.
The scene is seductive, but the contract pages remain blank, and every sunrise brings Qatar, UAE or an internal candidate closer to the table.
The calendar is not romantic; it keeps ticking.
If the federation waits until December 2026, the Gulf will have its signatures, Mkhalele will have the corridors locked, McCarthy will have his Pro Licence framed, and South Africa might watch its most successful son patrol another continent’s touchline while the national team starts over with a Plan C.
Mosimane has named his price, outlined his scope, and started the countdown.
SAFA must decide whether to lift the ball and play, or let the clock run out.
[{“question”: “
\n
Pitso Mosimane is a highly successful South African football coach. He is the only African coach to have won the CAF Champions League and Super Cup twice each, and the only coach from the continent to achieve a FIFA Club World Cup bronze medal. His impressive track record of nineteen major trophies and tactical acumen make him a top contender for the Bafana Bafana role, as he has consistently delivered success on the biggest stages.
\n”,”answer”: “”},{“question”: “
\n
Pitso Mosimane has outlined several significant demands. He seeks a minimum four-year mandate, full authority over youth development pathways, and a World Cup-qualification performance clause. Essentially, he wants comprehensive control over the national team’s direction and a long-term commitment from SAFA to achieve his objectives.
\n”,”answer”: “”},{“question”: “
\n
SAFA’s hesitation stems from a few factors. His salary expectations are quite high; his last package at Al Ahly was reported at USD 2.4 million net. There are also concerns about past issues and a perception of ego, with some SAFA committee members recalling a 2019 press conference where Mosimane suggested his own country didn’t respect him as much as the continent did. These factors make SAFA wary of his demands and the financial implications.
\n”,”answer”: “”},{“question”: “
\n
The current coach, Hugo Broos, has a contract that expires at 23:59 on 31 December 2026, forty-eight hours after the final whistle of the World Cup in North America. SAFA needs to act swiftly, as recruitment documents are already being prepared. The short-list for a new coach is expected to be ready before the 2026 Nations Cup warm-ups begin to avoid losing out on top candidates to rival federations.
\n”,”answer”: “”},{“question”: “
\n
Hiring Pitso Mosimane comes with substantial financial implications, as his salary could easily consume a significant portion of the senior national team’s budget. To potentially address this, Mosimane’s representatives have proposed a private-public funding split: 60% from traditional sponsors (like MTN, Castle, Nike) and 40% backed by Patrice Motsepe’s African Football Investment vehicle, which could be convertible to equity in a future SAFA commercial arm. This creative financing model aims to make his high salary more feasible.
\n”,”answer”: “”},{“question”: “
\n
If SAFA delays in securing a new coach, especially Pitso Mosimane, they risk missing out on their best chance for success and potentially qualifying for the World Cup. Other national teams and clubs, particularly from the Gulf region, are also interested in Mosimane and prepared to offer lucrative contracts. Waiting too long could mean that Mosimane takes up an offer elsewhere, leaving SAFA to scramble for alternative, potentially less experienced, candidates, or to appoint a caretaker coach, thereby undermining their long-term vision for Bafana Bafana.
\n”,”answer”: “”}]
Sacha FeinbergMngomezulu, a young rugby star, chose to stay with Cape Town's Stormers instead of…
Phil Craig, a British estate agent, came to South Africa and started a big fight.…
Getting a ticket for the 2026 World Cup to see Bafana Bafana is super hard…
The grand old icebreaker, SA Agulhas, once a proud scientific ship, is now in deep…
Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, a South African doctor, is a fiery voice for health rights globally.…
Get ready for a super cool new hotel in Cape Town! It's called The Cape…