Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has expressed concern over the coaching qualifications of his assistant Helman Mkhalele, despite endorsing him to become his outright successor.
Broos, who has already confirmed that he will be stepping down as the coach of the national team when his contract expires after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, said he prefers Mkhalele to be the man who takes over from him for continuity purposes.
Succession plan
However, the 73-year-old Belgian stressed that the Bafana legend needs to enhance his coaching credentials, as this could potentially hinder his succession plan and lead to Mkhalele being benched in certain competitions.
“The best thing to do is for Helman to become the coach after me,” Broos said during a roundtable discussion with the media on Thursday at Safa House.
“You’ll then have a fluid succession plan. When he takes over the team, the way of working and philosophy will stay the same. There will be many African practices incorporated into the team because I am European.
“But Helman thinks about many things, almost 95%, like me. That’s why I am so happy with him. It should be very good.”
Broos continued: “But the only problem with Helman is that he doesn’t have the qualifications. You can avoid that if Helman follows the UEFA Pro Licence courses. You need that as the coach of the national team.”
Broos’ successes with Bafana
Mkhalele recently enrolled in his CAF A coaching course and is expected to be done with it by the time Broos’ five-year contract comes to an end in 2026 after the World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
After the late 1996 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) victory under Clive Barker, Broos will go down as one of the greatest Bafana coaches.
The Belgian recently guided Bafana to the global showpiece for the first time since the 2002 edition, having only qualified as hosts in 2010.
Prior to that, he helped Bafana win a bronze medal at the 2023 Afcon in the Ivory Coast, which was their first-ever podium finish since the class of 1996.
Broos also secured qualification for the 2025 Afcon edition in December, which will be staged in Morocco later this year.
