Pitso Mosimane has been officially confirmed as the head coach of South Africa, 24 days after the South African Football Association approved his appointment.
The 62-year-old was announced on Tuesday as the successor to Belgian coach Hugo Broos, who retired after guiding Bafana Bafana to the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
Mosimane’s appointment had been delayed after SAFA president Danny Jordaan announced on August 8 that the association still needed to “tie up some loose ends” before finalising the deal.
The former South Africa striker now has only 23 days to prepare the national team for their opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Guinea.
Guinea failed to qualify for the 2025 AFCON in Morocco but have a major attacking threat in Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy.
Mosimane returns to the South Africa job for a second spell, having previously managed the national team from 2010 to 2012.
His first stint ended unsuccessfully after South Africa failed to qualify for the 2012 AFCON. He was subsequently dismissed following a home draw against Ethiopia in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
However, Mosimane has enjoyed considerable success at club level. He led Mamelodi Sundowns to the CAF Champions League title before winning the competition twice with Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
He also won the CAF Super Cup three times, taking his total number of major CAF club titles to six. Only Portuguese coach Manuel Jose, with eight titles won with Al Ahly, has more.
After leaving Al Ahly following three seasons, Mosimane managed clubs in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.
His latest contract with South Africa runs until the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
Mosimane will now face the immediate task of preparing Bafana Bafana for their AFCON qualifying campaign while also building a squad capable of competing at the 2030 World Cup.