A fascinating chapter in South African football history will unfold in November when Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana Bafana face Benni McCarthy’s Kenya in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 qualifiers.
The two South African football giants will find themselves on opposite sides of the touchline as they battle for an important result in Group D, which also includes Guinea and Eritrea.
The first meeting between Bafana Bafana and Kenya is scheduled to take place in South Africa in November, before the two nations meet again in Kenya in the return fixture. The matches fall within CAF’s Matchday 3 and 4 window, scheduled for 9 to 17 November 2026.
The fixture will carry an intriguing personal storyline because Mosimane and McCarthy are both deeply connected to South African football.
Mosimane, recently appointed Bafana Bafana coach for the third time, returns to the national team with a wealth of experience gained during a highly successful club coaching career. He has won the CAF Champions League three times, including with Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly.
McCarthy, meanwhile, has moved into international management after a distinguished playing career that established him as one of South Africa’s greatest-ever strikers. He will now be tasked with guiding Kenya against the country where he made his name as a player and coach.
The two men have previously crossed paths within the Bafana Bafana environment, but never as playing teammates. Their relationship will now take on an entirely different dimension as they attempt to outwit each other from opposite technical areas.
For Mosimane, the objective will be to steer South Africa towards qualification for the 2027 AFCON finals.
Kenya, however, already has automatic qualification as one of the three co-hosts of the tournament alongside Tanzania and Uganda. Nevertheless, the Harambee Stars are participating in the qualifying campaign, and their matches will provide valuable competitive preparation ahead of the finals. In Group D, only the highest-placed team apart from Kenya will qualify through the group because Kenya already has its place secured as a host.
That makes the group particularly interesting for Bafana Bafana.
South Africa will first have to negotiate matches against Guinea and Eritrea before facing McCarthy’s Kenya. The opening fixtures are scheduled for the September/October window, with Bafana beginning at home against Guinea before travelling to Egypt to face Eritrea at a neutral venue.
When Mosimane and McCarthy eventually meet, however, the focus will shift from their shared South African football history to the tactical battle between two coaches who understand African football exceptionally well.
Mosimane will want Bafana to dominate the group and secure qualification, while McCarthy will be looking to use Kenya’s campaign to build momentum before the co-hosts welcome the continent’s best teams for AFCON 2027.
For South African supporters, it will be a particularly special encounter.
A former Bafana player who became one of Africa’s most decorated coaches will be standing in one technical area, while one of the country’s most celebrated strikers will be standing in the other.
This time, there will be no shared dressing room and no common objective — Pitso Mosimane and Benni McCarthy will be rivals, fighting from opposite sides of the touchline.
