Pitso Mosimane Returns to Lead South Africa in AFCON 2027 Qualifiers

South African football has turned back to one of its most decorated figures. Pitso Mosimane is back in charge of the national team, tasked with steering Bafana Bafana through qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

The South African Football Association moved quickly, installing the veteran coach just weeks before the campaign begins. The message is clear: experience over experimentation.

Mosimane replaces Belgian coach Hugo Broos and walks into the job with a résumé few on the continent can match. Across an illustrious career, he has collected 20 trophies, shaping title-winning sides at home and abroad and carving out a reputation as one of Africa’s elite coaches.

Three of those titles came on the biggest club stage in Africa. Mosimane lifted the CAF Champions League once with Mamelodi Sundowns, then twice with Egyptian giants Al Ahly, building teams that not only won but dominated.

His domestic record is just as imposing. Five South African league crowns underline his command of the local game and his ability to build sustained success rather than fleeting runs of form.

That pedigree took him beyond South Africa’s borders. Mosimane has worked in Saudi Arabia with Al Ahli Jeddah and Abha, and in the UAE with Al Wahda, before his most recent spell at Esteghlal in Iran. Each stop added another layer of experience, another dressing room, another culture navigated.

Now all of that circles back to the national side.

The timing is no coincidence. With AFCON 2027 qualifying about to start, South Africa have turned to a coach who knows the terrain, the pressure, and the expectations that come with wearing the green and gold. The federation wants not just qualification, but a statement campaign.

Mosimane’s second era begins on 26 September against Guinea, a fixture that will immediately test his ability to impose ideas quickly. Four days later comes Eritrea on 30 September, another key step in setting the tone for the group.

Then, in November, the stakes rise again with home and away clashes against Kenya. By then, the shape of South Africa’s qualifying journey will be clearer – and so will the early verdict on Mosimane’s return.

He has the medals. He has the history. Now he has the job that will define this chapter of South African football.