Bafana Bafana fans, brace yourselves: Hugo Broos isn\u2019t just thinking about retirement after the 2026 World Cup \u2014 he\u2019s already picking out the next manager, and it\u2019s his long-time assistant Helman Mkhalele. Yes, the same Helman who\u2019s been Broos\u2019 right-hand man since 2021 and helped steer South Africa to a bronze medal at the 2023 AFCON.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Broos\u2019 timing couldn\u2019t be better. After a 3-0 hammering of Rwanda on October 14, Bafana qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 2010, topping Group C and sending South Africans into a celebratory frenzy (and probably a little nervous about the next challenge). With the Belgian announcing his exit after Canada, Mexico, and the USA host the global showpiece, the \u201cBroos era\u201d will be history \u2014 and Mkhalele is seemingly ready to inherit the keys to the Bafana bus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHelman should become the coach after me,\u201d Broos said, trying to sound casual while basically saying, \u201cPlease don\u2019t wreck my legacy.\u201d He added that the transition would maintain continuity, with a sprinkle of extra African flavour because, well, he\u2019s European. According to Broos, 95% of what Mkhalele thinks lines up perfectly with his own brainwaves. Sounds like a match made in tactical heaven \u2014 or at least in a very organized Belgian-South African spreadsheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s one small hiccup: Mkhalele only has a SAFA Level 1 badge. Broos kindly reminded him he\u2019ll need a UEFA Pro Licence to officially coach a national team. \u201cIt\u2019s not my job to do that,\u201d Broos said, but he definitely dropped the hint: \u201cGet qualified, or you might not be allowed to touch the whistle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, in short: Bafana Bafana will probably be in good hands, just as soon as Helman does a crash course in European paperwork. FIFA, watch out \u2014 this African-European combo might just run the show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bafana coach gives Mkhalele the nod<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[59,97,84],"class_list":["post-872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news","tag-bafana-bafana","tag-helman-mkhalele","tag-hugo-broos"],"yoast_head":"\n