Pitso Mosimane: Africa’s Record-Breaking Coach Returns Home

On 1 September 2026, South Africa’s greatest football coach officially walked back through the door he once left wide open.

The South African Football Association confirmed Pitso Mosimane as the new Bafana Bafana head coach at a press conference at SAFA House in Nasrec — and this time, ‘Jingles’ arrives with a CV that no predecessor could match.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) has confirmed the highly decorated Pitso Mosimane as the new Bafana Bafana coach.#BafanaPride@StandardBankZA@adidasZA @adidasfootball @SABC_Sport @10bet_ZA @HonorAfrica @castlelagerSa @rexona_sa https://t.co/7iz88QAMQB

— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) September 1, 2026

Pitso John Hamilton Mosimane was born on 26 July 1964 in Kagiso Township in the Krugersdorp area, west of Johannesburg, and is widely regarded as one of the most successful coaches in African football history.

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From the Pitch to the Touchline

Mosimane’s professional playing career took him from Jomo Cosmos to Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, then abroad — six seasons in Greece with Ionikos Nikeas, Belgium with FC Rita Berlaar, and Qatar’s Al-Sadd SC. It was at Rita Berlaar where he also began coaching junior teams, developing the eye for detail that would define his entire management career.

In 2001, he was appointed head coach of SuperSport United, where he won several trophies until his resignation in 2007. His haul there included the SAA Supa8 (2004) and the ABSA Cup (2005). A stint as assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreira for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa followed, before he was handed the Bafana Bafana head coach role in July 2010 — his first stint in that position.

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The Sundowns Dynasty

The real story begins in December 2012. Mosimane took charge of Mamelodi Sundowns and systematically dismantled every record in South African club football. At Mamelodi Sundowns, he won four South African league titles, two Nedbank Cups, and two Telkom Knockouts, and delivered the club’s first CAF Champions League title.

He added to his success stories as an accomplished manager, ending a PSL drought for Mamelodi Sundowns — winning the first league title for the club in eight years during the 2013/14 season. He would go on to win four more league titles at Tshwane before departing.

He was also the first South African coach to win the CAF Champions League — in 2016, defeating Egyptian giants Zamalek in the final.

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Record-Shattering at Al Ahly

If Sundowns made Mosimane a legend, Al Ahly made him history. He joined the Egyptian giants in October 2020 and immediately set about rewriting the continental record books.

En route to the 2020 CAF Champions League final, Al Ahly scored a record-breaking 34 goals in the tournament, overtaking the previous record of 31 goals — which had ironically been set by Mosimane’s own Mamelodi Sundowns team in 2016.

In July 2021, Mosimane became the first African manager to win the CAF Champions League three times, as Al Ahly defeated Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 in the final. He also became one of only a handful of coaches in the competition’s history to win back-to-back titles — joining an elite group of just five coaches in the competition’s 57-year history to achieve that feat.

The feats extended to the global stage. Mosimane led Al Ahly to third place at the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, with the Egyptian giants beating Palmeiras 3-2 on penalties — making Al Ahly the first club from Africa to achieve two podium finishes at the prestigious competition.

He also made history on away soil: Mosimane became the first manager in Egyptian football history to win a game in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after a stunning 3-0 victory over AS Vita in Kinshasa.

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Individual Accolades: Recognised Among the World’s Best

The trophies were matched by individual recognition. In December 2016, Mosimane was ranked as the 10th best coach in the world by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) — the highest any African coach had ever reached on that list.

He then went a step further. In 2021, Mosimane was voted Best African Club Coach of the Year by the IFFHS, after leading Al Ahly to the CAF Champions League title, the CAF Super Cup, and the best-ever finish by an African club at the FIFA Club World Cup.

His overall trophy collection spans three CAF Champions League titles, three CAF Super Cups, one Egyptian Premier League title, one Saudi Arabian Yelo League title, four South African league titles, two Nedbank Cups, two Telkom Knockouts, the SAA Supa8, the ABSA Cup, and one Egyptian Cup — making him comfortably South Africa’s most decorated coach of all time, with over 20 major honours to his name.

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A Second Chapter with Bafana Bafana

Mosimane takes over from Hugo Broos, whose tenure delivered third place at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and Bafana Bafana’s first World Cup qualification in 24 years, with the team reaching the second round in 2026 — their best-ever World Cup showing.

The bar has never been higher. But if Mosimane’s record tells us anything, it’s that he prefers it that way.