FILE - Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy pictured with global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo during their time together at Manchester United.
Image: Oli Scarff / AFP
What Hugo Broos has achieved over the last four years with Bafana Bafana can’t be overstated.
Broos was called the “Belgian bricklayer” by some on social media when he took the job in 2021, with many fans not convinced by the appointment despite the coach winning the cup with Cameroon in 2017.
But Broos has since built Bafana Bafana into a competitive force, and they are currently on an 18-match unbeaten run in competitive international matches. During that time they finished third at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and successfully qualified for the next tournament in Morocco, which starts in late December this year.
The South Africans also sit pretty atop Group C in the current 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers with 13 points, five ahead of second-placed Rwanda. If they do qualify for the showpiece tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, it will be the first time that they do so since 2002.
Bafana last participated at the 2010 tournament on home soil after they qualified as hosts.
But the 72-year-old Broos’ contract is up after next year’s World Cup. Age is not on his side and he is unlikely to continue in the role after turning water into wine with the South African national team over the last few years.
Hopefully the bungling South African Football Association (Safa) is already busy with a solid succession plan to help Bafana keep this level of performance and success for many more years to come.
They just have to look at the Springboks to see what proper succession planning is all about.
After the triumphant 2019 World Rugby World Cup in Japan, Rassie Erasmus put assistant and long-time confidant coach Jacques Nienaber in the hot seat and they won the 2023 event in France.
Now the Boks are trying to make history again by winning three consecutive titles with Erasmus back in the helm and bringing enough players through to have a wide base from which to pick from, as many of the current stalwart Boks are coming towards the end of their careers.
Safa, who are reportedly broke and can’t pay salaries, can’t afford to drop the ball after Broos leaves. The hard work simply can’t just be undone, especially as Broos put our national football team back on the map.
At this point the plan should include Benni McCarthy as one of the main candidates to take over from Broos.
McCarthy is currently with the Kenyan national team, starting off with a dramatic 3-3 draw against Gambia before losing to 2-1 in their World Cup qualifier against Gabon.
McCarthy, a South African football legend and the national team’s all-time leading goalscorer, has expressed a strong desire to coach Bafana Bafana.
His coaching credentials include stints at Cape Town City and AmaZulu in the South African Premiership, where he showed promise, as well as a high-profile role as forwards coach at Manchester United, giving him experience at an elite level.
Coaching Kenya is going to give him the experience of international continental football, which is going to be invaluable going forward. Broos came in as a guy who knew his way around Africa, and it’s been one of the keys to success.
McCarthy’s passion, tactical knowledge, and understanding of South African football, he is a natural fit. And if he gets that much-needed continental experience under the belt, even better.
For now, though, we are enjoying uncle Hugo’s and his Bafana. Life is good, but it can also come at you fast if you don’t plan for the future.
@JohnGoliath82