Coach Hugo Broos has cast his net wide in the latest Bafana Bafana team. The Belgian has opted for some young talent, opting to pick the likes of defender Khulumani Ndamane (20) from TS Galaxy in the 37-man preliminary squad. TS Galaxy boss Tim Sukazi would be pleased to see Ndamane, alongside club teammate Samukelo Kabini, who’s also 20 years old, get the nod. Sukazi insisted recently that his players deserve some recognition, going as far as naming four; Ndamane,…

The South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan is looking forward to a “buzzing” Peter Mokaba Stadium next month. Bafana Bafana have a date with neighbours Lesotho – a FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier that will be played at the Polokwane venue on 21 March, which is a Human Rights Day in South Africa. The local football controlling body has announced that tickets for the match are on sale and Jordaan has urged the nation to rally behind the…

Benni McCarthy is on the verge of taking over as head coach of the Kenyan national team, as per reports from East Africa. The Harambee Stars have been courting McCarthy for the past few weeks. In fact, his appointment was expected to be ratified in December last year. However, there appear to have been delays in getting the deal over the line. McCarthy, who’s Bafana Bafana’s all-time leading goalscorer with 31 goals in 80 matches, is expected to touch down…

Eighteen months ago, Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was critical of Cassius Mailula’s move from Mamelodi Sundowns to Major League Soccer (MLS) side, Toronto FC. Broos, who shoots from the hip, insisted at the time that Mailula, who had very little PSL experience, was being thrown to the deep end at Toronto, where there were a couple of established forwards. The Belgian was proven right when Mailula was shipped out to Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca in August 2024. All is well…

Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba has explained why the province decided to part with R4.7 million to host Bafana Bafana against Lesotho at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday, 21 March. The South African Football Association (SAFA) has kept its word to take the senior national team, Bafana Bafana, across the country, but it doesn’t come cheap. However, Dr Ramathuba has insisted that it would be worthwhile for the province to host a match of this magnitude, which is…

Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba’s contribution to Bafana Bafana over the years has not gone unnoticed. On Wednesday, 5 February, the South African Football Association (SAFA) paid Mashaba a visit at the hospital to award him a bronze medal attained when Bafana Bafana finished third at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Ivory Coast a year ago. Mashaba, 74, was admitted to the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg on January 27, 2025, for a suspected bladder infection. His hospital stay…

A two-year cycle of qualifying tournaments for the FIFA World Cup 2026 began in Africa on 15 November 2023. It is the first qualifying round after a significant change in FIFA rules that raised the number of teams competing at the finals of the World Cup to 48 from 32.   This means more African teams can take part in the coveted tournament and, therefore, greater chance for Africa’s footballing stars to shine brightly, particularly the Moroccans led by Walid Regragui,…