Pitso Mosimane should be the next Bafana Bafana head coach, so says South Africa’s sports minister, Gayton McKenzie.

McKenzie was speaking to SABC Sport at OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday morning when the national team arrived home from the United States of America (USA), where they participated in the FIFA World Cup.

Bafana Bafana reached the last 32 round with Belgian Hugo Broos in charge, but he has hinted that he is retiring after the tournament, igniting debate about who will take over from him.

“You know, the problem with us South Africans is sometimes we complicate very uncomplicated things. I’ve been listening to SAFA, who are shortlisting different coaches. There’s no different coach. There’s one coach that must lead Bafana Bafana, and that is Pitso Mosimane,” said McKenzie.

“I’ve put my weight as the minister of sport behind Pitso Mosimane.”

SAFA confirmed recently that Mosimane, who previously coached Bafana Bafana, is one of about 80 coaches who have applied for the job.

Meanwhile, McKenzie has commended Broos for his work with Bafana Bafana for over five years. Broos guided Bafana Bafana to a third-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualification, and reached the global showpiece knockout phase for the first time ever.

“What Coach Hugo has done for us, no one has ever done in our football. What he has achieved, no one has ever achieved. Before Coach Hugo came here, our football, Bafana Bafana, was a joke,” stated McKenzie.

“And if we are being honest, jokes were made. Nobody wore a Bafana Bafana t-shirt. But Coach Hugo turned things around, and Coach Hugo brought us to this point where we are in the same league as both Germany and Japan. We were knocked out at the same level with them.”