The team of South African coach, Pitso “Jingles” Mosimane, has been stopped from a number of important jobs because they are looking for Bafana Bafana as the contract of Hugo Broos ended with the national team kneeling in the Last 32 of the World Cup.
These are the words that came out of the mouth of the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, yesterday morning when Bafana Bafana were welcomed at OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg.
McKenzie told the thousands of people who had met their heroes that he had spoken to the South African Football Association (Safa) about the coach who should replace Broos. Safa is said to have received job applications from more than 80 coaches.
“Thank you to Broos for restoring our dignity and for reminding us that we are a country that deserves to be part of all major competitions. It is not something that needs to be considered that Mosimane is the one who should continue working for Bafana. What else should Mosimane do to make it clear that he is the one who should be given the job?
“The proof that he knows football is in the important titles in African football that he has won with different teams and he is a person who believes in caring for and shaping the players who are the future of South African football.
“I have spoken to Safa about Mosimane and we have finished. I have also spoken to Mosimane about this job. There are big teams in African football who have been looking for Mosimane for the past few months but we persuaded him to ignore them because we knew his time in Bafana had come,” said MacKenzie.
Although it was known that Broos will leave Bafana after the World Cup, he was heard singing another song in the past few days. He told the media that he would like to continue working for Safa, as long as it is a position that does not require him to stay in South Africa. Yesterday, McKenzie said that the coach told him that he is still going to talk to his wife in Belgium.
“No matter what decision Broos will take, we will support him, but what he should know is that he will always be in our hearts as South Africans. If there is a way, we will try to help him at least in the development stages of this country’s football because we love him,” said McKenzie.
The coach who will take over as Bafana’s coach, is tasked with assembling the squad that will start the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers on September 1. The next Afcon will be held in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania next year.