Timeline of South African Football Coaches from 1992 – 2022

Jeff Butler (1992)

The Englishman was earmarked as Bafana Bafana's first coach, but a discrepancy with his coaching qualifications led him being turfed.

Stanley "Screamer" Tshabalala (1992)

Tshabalala was more famous for slapping veteran journalist Sy Lerman than the kind of football Bafana played under him. They lost two games to Zimbabwe and Nigeria 4-1 and 4-0 respectively, earning Bafana the unwanted "4x4's" nickname.

Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba (1992)

Mashaba took over for one qualifier against the Republic of Congo but returned later for two dramatic spells as head coach.

Augusto Palacios (1992-1994)

Taking Bafana Bafana to the 1994 African Cup of Nations and the 1994 World Cup proved to be beyond him. The qualifying groups were too tough for a fledgling national team.

Clive Barker (1994-1997)

It was under the "Bulldog" where Bafana took the most strides. They were up against serious international opposition like Argentina and Germany before the 1996 AFCON success. There was the even bigger carrot of the 1998 World Cup qualification, but failure at the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the end of him.

Ephraim "Jomo" Sono (1998)

Took charge of the 1998 AFCON title defense that painfully failed at the last hurdle against Egypt in Burkina Faso.

Trott Moloto (1998-2000)

Under him, Bafana beat European opposition when they beat Sweden 1-0 in 1998. Masterminded the third-place finish at the 2000 AFCON despite a timid performance in the 2-0 semi-final loss to Nigeria.

Carlos Queiroz (2000–2002)

Queiroz qualified Bafana Bafana for the 2002 World Cup but didn't go there after failing to get past the quarterfinals of the 2002 AFCON.

Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba (2002-2003)

The first of his two tumultuous head coaching stints with Bafana, with one of the stated faults being an inability to work with overseas-based players.

Ephraim "Jomo" Son (2003)

Took charge of one game.

Kenneth "Conti" Kubheka (2003)

He also took charge of one game.

April "Styles" Phumo (2003-2004)

The late Phumo took Bafana to the 2004 AFCON in Tunisia, where a 4-0 group game defeat against Nigeria subjected them to the first of many first-round AFCON exits.

Stuart Baxter (2004-2005)

Baxter's failure to qualify Bafana Bafana to the 2006 World Cup was his major undoing, despite an excellent Concacaf Gold Cup showing.

Ted Dumitru (2005-2006)

For all his club excellence with Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, Dumitru probably had the worst Bafana coaching spell. His 2006 AFCON trip to Egypt, where Bafana lost all three games with no goals scored, remains the team's worst continental tournament return.

Pitso Mosimane (2006-2007)

The celebrated Sundowns coach moved from SuperSport to be an assistant coach but held down the caretaker job for seven games.

Carlos Alberto Parreira (2007-2008)

He was seen as Bafana's saviour, but an embarrassing 3-1 defeat against Zambia in Cape Town set pulses racing. He took Bafana to the 2008 AFCON in Ghana but stepped aside due to personal issues.

Joel Natalino Santana (2008-2009)

Coach who came with a big reputation and took Bafana to the 2009 Confederations Cup semi-finals.

Carlos Alberto Parreira (2009-2010)

He came back and guided Bafana Bafana to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they became the first hosts to bomb in the first round.

Pitso Mosimane (2010-2012)

Ascended to the position after several years of assisting and after the Mbombela debacle where SA failed to qualify for the 2012 AFCON after a grim miscalculation, he was dismissed.

Steve Komphela (2012)

He took charge of two games.

Gordon Igesund (2012-2014)

He had the benefit of coaching Bafana Bafana at home, when SA hosted the 2013 AFCON and 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) but had quarterfinal and first-round exits, respectively.

Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba (2014-2016)

Labelled the cheap coach, in 2015, he qualified Bafana for the AFCON for the first time since 2008, but a fractious relationship with his bosses and the media was the end of him.

Stuart Baxter (2016-2019)

His second spell saw him qualify for AFCON 2019 in Egypt, where Bafana reached the quarterfinals. However, he failed in his 2018 World Cup objective.

Molefi Ntseki (2019-2021)

In failing to qualify for the 2022 AFCON, his employment bolt was shot.

Hugo Broos (2021-present)

After widespread speculation linking top goal-scorer Benni McCarthy to the job, the 69-year-old Belgian was appointed the 19th Bafana head coach. It was revealed at a SAFA press conference in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, while Broos joined virtually from Europe.