Pitsso Mosimane, who is preparing to lead the South African national team Bafana Bafana, has stated his vision for strengthening football in the country, aiming to start changes from the very basics. He emphasized that to achieve this goal, he needs the support of all South Africans.
Mosimane stated that football unites people regardless of skin color, origin, or fatherhood: 'Football is one place where it doesn't matter what color you are, where you are from, or who your father is; if you can play football, you will play.'
The 62-year-old specialist, whose appointment was approved by NEC Safa last week, is ready to make every effort to achieve national excellence. This may include visiting the best rugby schools in South Africa with the aim of 'introducing football.'
Speaking on the CheckPoint Podcast on eNCA, Mosimane discussed the recently released book 'Youth Football Coaching Manual.' He noted that coaches have long worked with players without structured materials or a curriculum.
He explained that he decided to write the manual so that knowledge could be systematized, similar to how academics do it: 'I decided to write a manual so we can break down, as academics say, before reading, you must know your alphabet; then you can read.'
Mosimane highly values the successes achieved in rugby and wishes to replicate this success in South Africa. He observed that in any town or village, there are more rugby posts than football goals.
'I respect rugby, and I even have a Springboks jersey because it is our national team... We need to see what the Bokke did, where they started? Which schools do they attend and what is their program?'
The podcast host, Nkepile Mabuse, suggested that Mosimane collaborate with leading schools such as Paul Roos, St Alban’s College, and Paarl Boys. Mosimane responded to this by acknowledging that some local schools are not interested in football.
However, when asked to change this situation, Mosimane did not hesitate. He stated: 'Give me the challenge; it is a good challenge.' He mentioned that the Minister of Basic Education visited the presentation of his book and said that 'coaching is necessary in this.'
In this regard, Mosimane proposed the next step: 'I think we now need to move to the next stage and say: Minister, could you accompany me to talk to Paul Roos, Paarl Gym, and all these schools so we can present the program [to them] and help children play football—especially, we need white footballers.'
He insisted on the need to involve white footballers in Bafana Bafana, arguing that they play at the youth level but then disappear. His goal is to demonstrate their potential in the national team to show that 'they can play there.'
For Mosimane, this goes beyond simply finding players. He is convinced that football has the power to unite South Africans in a way few things can. He cites the example of Europe, where many Africans are in France, and states: 'As long as you can play football, we will let you play.'
He stressed that football does not discriminate: 'Football does not choose; it doesn't care if you live in a shack. As long as you can play football, we will give you a chance. We don't care about connections, we don't care who you are...'
In Mosimane's view, the task is not only to create the best Bafana Bafana team but also to change South Africa's perception of football—from school grounds to the national team—ensuring that the next generation of talents, regardless of their background, is not lost along the way.
