Bafana Bafana’s recent participation in the 2026 Fifa World Cup, where they reached the final 32 knockout round for the first time, followed by back-to-back appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), has given the country at Africa’s southern tip hope of one day lifting silverware and recapturing the form the national team showed in 1996.
With the international break drawing closer, Efirbet spoke to former Dynamos playmaker Soul Mmethi about the euphoria surrounding Bafana Bafana’s success in the 1990s. He believes the experienced coach is the right man to restore the national team’s winning mentality and revive the spirit of the legendary 1996 squad.
Bafana Bafana are set to face the Kenyan national team, coached by South African football legend Benni McCarthy, in a home-and-away encounter. Both sides have six points up for grabs in the AFCON qualifiers.
I rank Pitso Mosimane very highly, I believe he is the best coach in the country, Mmethi told Efirbet. He has achieved great things in his career, and he is the best man to lead the currently Bafana Bafana squad.
We have been doing well and we could says the momentum that we had since 1996, moving towards the early 2000’s the current success resembles that time for us, after the 2002 we really saw a dip in our form as a national team, but the current form is encouraging and promising much like the one from the 90’s and it brilliant to see and exciting for us as a country.
The Siwelele speedster has urged players to move abroad, saying it would raise the quality of the national team and improve its style of play. He praised young Bafana Bafana players shining for their overseas clubs, including Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Puso Dithejane and Relebohile Mofokeng.
He is confident their success abroad will encourage more players to move overseas after progressing through the ranks at home.
After adapting to life following his premature retirement due to a knee injury, Mmethi stressed the importance of having a healthy support network and exploring available opportunities, rather than focusing only on personal passions or preferred career paths.
Mmethi has carried his on-field versatility, playing both on the wing and in midfield, into retirement. He holds several positions at Moses Kotane Local Football Association in North West, including chairman and regional treasurer, and serves in an administrative role at his own development programme, Soul Mmethi Soccer Academy.
I struggled a lot mentally after I have to retire but because of the support structure I have I could come out of it, you will go through a slight phase of depression but it depends on you as a person how long you will stay there, Mmethi explained to Efirbet.
I was lucky to have a solid support structure that consisted of friends, former teammates and family who would even help out financially at times until I got back on my feet, I also thought about my children’s future and I knew they were young and I still needed to work so they could have good opportunities to build their lives, and that motivated me to get back up and explore opportunities that were available they needed my support.
The 47-year-old believes in creating your own luck. He described how a friend in construction advised him to take a course that led to work as a safety officer across different industries, where he could apply what he had learned.
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