Kenya coach Benni McCarthy promises no favours for Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana Bafana

Benni McCarthy is delighted for Pitso Mosimane following his appointment as Bafana Bafana head coach, but has warned that sentiment will count for nothing when the two South African tactical minds lock horns in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

Mosimane was appointed as the national team coach early this month, returning to the helm 14 years after his dismissal. His arrival is widely expected to build on the solid foundation laid by Hugo Broos and elevate Bafana Bafana to new heights.

While the 62-year-old Mosimane received a flood of congratulatory messages from across the global football community, McCarthy was notably absent from those publicly sending well wishes.

Speaking to Dollar TV ahead of assembling his Harambee Stars squad for their upcoming qualifiers against Eritrea and Guinea, McCarthy cleared the air regarding his initial silence.

“Nobody congratulated me when I got the Kenyan national team job. Now, why must I congratulate other people when they got something?” McCarthy asked. “I am very happy for people when good things happen.”

McCarthy insisted there is no animosity between himself and Mosimane, pointing out that mutual respect will be on full display when the two sides meet in their back-to-back qualifiers in November.

“Like I said, the day we face each other, we’ll have that respect for one another,” McCarthy said. “He’ll probably congratulate me for the work I am doing with Kenya, and vice versa, I will congratulate coach Pitso for taking the Bafana job.

“There’s mutual respect; he’s my senior. We’ve been very good friends from our playing days to now as coaches – we’ve always been on the opposite end of each other in battles. We know each other well.”

Mosimane arguably faces higher stakes in the qualification campaign. As co-hosts of the 2027 AFCON alongside Tanzania and Uganda in the Pamoja region, Kenya have already secured automatic qualification for the tournament. Bafana Bafana, by contrast, must navigate the qualification route on merit.

However, South Africa’s all-time leading goalscorer maintains that Kenya will not be taking their foot off the gas, making it clear that his focus remains entirely on his employers.

“Me being born in South Africa, a beautiful country that has lots of love, will always be about that. But I am coaching Kenya, there’s no ‘ah, it’s my country’,” McCarthy added.

“Unfortunately, my country didn’t appoint me. So the loyalty is not to where I was born, but to the team that believed in me. They thought I was the one that could help them move forward in the right direction. So, that’s where my loyalty goes.”