Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has publicly criticised Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Orlando Pirates. The Belgian coach was furious about the outgoing Bucs defender’s late arrival at the national team camp, and labelled the incident as an “unprofessional attitude of a South African player.”
The Bucs centre-back, who recently captained the Soweto giants in the Carling Knockout Cup final, was expected to join his international teammates earlier, but his club cited a missed flight from Durban as the reason for the delay.
The young defender was supposed to join the Bafana Bafana camp in Tshwane on Tuesday after his final match for Pirates, following a recent move to MLS side Chicago Fire.
Broos did not mince his words when addressing the media on Wednesday afternoon at Pretoria’s High Performance Centre [HPC] ahead of Bafana’s preparations for the upcoming 2025 AFCON finals in Morocco.
WHAT HUGO BROOS SAID ABOUT MBEKEZELI MBOKAZI’S LATE ARRIVAL
“Mbokazi, he just arrived or will arrive in 15 minutes,” Broos told the media. The 2017 AFCON winner with Cameroon initially said he “didn’t want to talk about it” but had to do so because he was asked the question [about whether the full Bafana squad assembled in camp].
“You have the right to know that I’m not pleased about it,” he added. “He let us know that he missed his flight yesterday in Durban; it was the coach of Pirates [Abdeslam Ouaddou] who informed me. And he was very angry that he missed his flight because, and that’s his words, ‘it’s an unprofessional attitude’.”
This is not the first time the Bafana mentor has criticised a national team player. Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Jayden Adams and Njabulo Blom have previously faced his anger. This time, Broos said the Buccaneers sent him a message “with nonsense”.
“And I think I spoke already to you about the unprofessional attitude of South African players. Again, an example of it. Then Pirates sent me a message with nonsense – really nonsense, why he missed his flight, and I will not tell you what they said – and that is the worst thing that a club protects the player for his unprofessional attitude.
“This is South Africa, and this is very bad, very, very bad. When you’re a 19-year-old guy, and you receive a call-up from the national team for AFCON, and to play the [FIFA] World Cup next year, and the coach gives you a few more days off, if you are somebody with a good attitude, you don’t even want those two days, and you are here on Monday with the other players.”
BROOS TO HAVE A CHAT WITH MBOKAZI
He concluded by stating that he will “have a chat with him after training”. “But I know why, I know why. Suddenly, Mboki is a star. He thinks he is a star. This is the attitude of a star: ‘I will decide when I come’. I will explain it to him. I’m very angry, very angry about his attitude.”
The national team regrouped in Pretoria ahead of their departure to this month’s AFCON in Morocco. They face Ghana next week in their final match in South Africa.
Broos has previously been a staunch supporter of Mbokazi, often encouraging him to move to a higher-level league in Europe to develop his career. However, this latest incident marks a sour note on the defender’s national team call-up.
Bafana depart for Marrakesh next week to participate in the AFCON tournament, which will be held in the North African country from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026. The stage is set for 24 African teams to compete across nine venues in Morocco, with Côte d’Ivoire as the defending champions.
South Africa is in Group B alongside Egypt, Angola, and Zimbabwe. They begin their campaign against Angola on 22 December 2025.
RELATED STORY: Carnell names MLS star Mbokazi must emulate to succeed at Chicago Fire