Bafana coach Broos delighted at talks with coaches of Chiefs, Pirates, Sundowns

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says he is pleased to have met the head coaches of Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns recently and is hoping to meet more bosses of clubs based in Durban and Cape Town.

Broos, who has battled for years to set up a meeting via the Premier Soccer League (PSL) with all the Premiership coaches at once, seems to have resigned himself to going to clubs individually.

Announcing his squad on Thursday for Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers this month against Uganda and South Sudan, Broos said he had met Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi, Pirates’ Jose Riveiro and Chiefs’ Nasreddine Nabi in recent weeks.

He said the discussions were fruitful, though he still hopes to hold a symposium with all the PSL coaches together.

“For me, what was amazing is that the meetings I have had now with the coaches is that they were happy to see me. I was happy that we could talk about football between us without any other people around us,” the coach said.

“Second, they were not aware of the situation of why it took so long before I could speak to them. We started now to do it with Sundowns, Pirates and Chiefs but it was all in Johannesburg. There are still teams in Durban and Cape Town.

“I hope in the future I can meet all the coaches together at once. Just come together.

“In Durban the same thing — you have Richards Bay, AmaZulu and Golden Arrows. So please, let's try to come together with 16 teams and try to talk about football. I hope I can succeed in the new year, but when I don't know.”   

Bafana need a win from one of their last two group K games to confirm their place among the 16 teams that will participate in the 35th Afcon in Morocco in December 2025 and January 2026. South Africa are second in group K with eight points, two behind Uganda (10), after winning two and drawing two of their four qualifiers.

A win against Uganda at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala on November 15 (3pm, SA time) will confirm their qualification. If South Africa lose or draw against Uganda, they will have a better chance of beating South Sudan at Cape Town Stadium on November 19 (3pm).

South Sudan have lost all four of their group stage qualifiers. Third-placed Congo have four points.