The man who helped South Africa qualify for their first World Cup in 15 years

South Africa will be playing in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 15 years and the first time in over two decades, having earned qualification.

This is thanks to head coach Hugo Broos, who has been managing the team since 2021, a year before the previous tournament was held in Qatar.

Broos was born in April 1952 in Humbeek, Belgium, where he began his footballing career playing for local side KFC Humbeek.

At the age of eighteen, he was scouted by RSC Anderlecht, one of Belgium’s top clubs. He remained with the team for ten years, playing at the heart of its defence.

Here, he won several titles, including three European trophies, three national championships, and four Belgian cups.

Broos also represented the national team between 1974, aged 22, and 1986, where he gained 24 caps. The team finished fourth at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

After ten years at Anderlecht, he moved to another major Belgian club, Club Brugge, the same one that South African Percy Tau played for from 2019 to 2021. Tau also spent time at Anderlecht.

Broos spent the rest of his club career at Club Brugge from 1983 until 1988, winning the Belgian Cup in 1986 and the national championship in 1988.

He immediately took up a coaching position at Belgian side RWD Molenbeek, where he remained for three years.

He then returned to Club Brugge as head coach, a position he held from 1991 until 1998. The team won the national championship in 1992 and 1996 and the Belgian Cup in 1991, 1995, and 1996.

After leaving Club Brugge and spending four years at Excelsior Mouscron, Broos headed to Anderlecht, where he helped them win the 2003/04 national championship and qualify for the Champions League.

However, after a disappointing season in 2004/05, Broos was sacked for the first time in nearly two decades. He then took up a coaching position at Belgian club KRC Genk, which he left in 2007/08.

Broos won the Belgian Coach of the Year award four times. Twice at Club Brugge in 1992 and 1996, once at Anderlecht in 2004, and once at Genk in 2007.

Leaving Belgium

In 2008, he moved to Greece to coach Panserraikos. Despite a strong campaign, it could not avoid relegation, which led to Broos leaving the club.

He then moved to Turkey, where he took up a post at Trabzonspor in June 2009. However, this only lasted for five months, and he was released from the club in November that year.

Afterwards, Broos returned to Belgium to coach Zulte Waregem for half a season. He then took up the role of assistant coach at Al Jazira Club in Abu Dhabi.

However, he was sacked two years later. This saw him move to Algeria, where he coached JS Kabylie for three months, followed by another three at NA Hussein Dey.

A year’s break triggered the end of his club managerial career, in the meantime, he took up the position as head coach of the Cameroon national team at the beginning of 2016.

Broos left the team at the beginning of 2018 after being laid off, despite having helped the team win the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Afterwards, he took up the role of sporting director at K.V. Oostende for a couple of months before taking a break from football for three years.

In May 2021, Broos was appointed as the head coach of Bafana Bafana. His first major tournament was the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where South Africa placed third.

In 2025, Broos led the team to World Cup qualification, despite several hiccups along the way.

This included forfeiting a match against Lesotho for fielding a suspended player. This took South Africa from a comfortable first place to second, relying on Benin to lose to qualify.

However, Broos managed to get the team across the line, securing a spot in the world’s premier football tournament.

Bafana Bafana have been drawn in Group A of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside co-hosts Mexico, South Korea, and the winner of the European playoff D match.

This means that either Denmark, North Macedonia, the Republic of Ireland, or the Czech Republic will join South Africa.

Bafana Bafana will be playing in the opening match of the tournament against Mexico on 11 June 2026 at the Mexico City Stadium at 10 p.m. South African time.

Bafana’s second match will be played on 18 June against the team that secures qualification in the playoff. Atlanta will host the fixture, which is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.

A week later, South Africa will head back to Mexico to take on South Korea, which will be broadcast at 4 a.m. South African time.

This year, Broos announced that he would be retiring from football management following the tournament.