Pitso Mosimane: When Patrice Motsepe Offered to Fund His Bafana Return - ‘My Favourite Coach’

Pitso Mosimane’s return as Bafana Bafana coach has divided opinion among South African football fans but one man who must be delighted is Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe.

Mosimane’s highly-awaited unveiling finally took place on Tuesday in Johannesburg when the South African Football Association named him as Hugo Broos’ successor.

It came after over three weeks of negotiations over his salary, composition of his backroom staff and other contractual obligations. One thing that raised alarm is the revelation that he was initially offered R5 million per year before it was revised to R10 million.

Still, that was below the R16.7 million that Belgian Broos was reportedly earning during his impressive five-year stint as Bafana coach.

Mosimane makes a return as Bafana coach, 14 years after his first stint, which lasted between July 2010 and June 2012, and is tasked with continuing Broos’ legacy with the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations his first major assignment.

While calls for Mosimane’s return grew louder in the last couple of months, the 62-year-old had already been endorsed by Motsepe four years ago.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the South African National Editors Forum in June 2022, Motsepe expressed a desire to see Mosimane lead Bafana Bafana, adding that he was even ready to bankroll his return if money proved to be a problem.

"Of course, my favourite coach... I love Pitso [Mosimane], I will always love Pitso, he's got a special place in my heart and I wish him well," Motsepe told journalists.

"I wish he could coach Bafana Bafana, I'll get the Motsepe Foundation to subsidise his salary. I think he's quality, and quality should not come cheaply,” he added when asked whether the coach is that expensive.

Motsepe and Mosimane had a great relationship when the tactician managed the CAF boss’ club Mamelodi Sundowns between 2012 and 2020, winning five league titles as well as the CAF Champions League.

He would leave to take over Egyptian giants Al Ahly in September 2020 but the relationship did not sour as there were even reports early this year that the club had considered Mosimane when Sundowns were going through a rough time on the pitch under current coach Miguel Cardoso.