Williams Demands AFCON Qualification Be “Second Nature” Under Mosimane
Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams says qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations must become “second nature” as South Africa begins its 2027 campaign against Guinea.
South Africa will open their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign against Guinea at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday, with Williams insisting that Bafana cannot afford to take a step backwards under new head coach Pitso Mosimane.
Bafana have not missed an AFCON edition under former head coach Hugo Broos, and Williams believes that consistency must continue as the national team looks to qualify for the tournament for a third consecutive time.
The goalkeeper said the current Bafana group views Mosimane’s arrival as a continuation of the progress made over the past few years, rather than a reason to start again.
“It’s obviously a continuation of what we’ve built over the last few years,” he said.
“We can’t take steps back now. We’ve got high expectations as players, and definitely the coach has high expectations as well.
“The relationship is good, it’s positive, and we’re all looking forward to what we can achieve. Everything has been good and smooth. Everyone is aligned to the job at hand.
“We don’t want to go back. We’ve come a long way; we’ve climbed the ladder, but now it’s about taking it even further.
“There are more steps that need to be climbed, and that’s exactly what the coach has emphasised this week: can we be a bit better? Can we achieve more?
“The word and the energy around the camp is that we want to do more. At this moment, it’s qualifying for AFCON.
“Qualifying for AFCON shouldn’t be a question mark anymore. It should be second nature that Bafana Bafana qualify. We’ve done it over the last few years. We’ve turned the corner, so now there shouldn’t be any doubts.
“We have to set our targets very high, and that’s exactly what we’ve done as a team.”
Bafana are in Group D of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers alongside Guinea, Eritrea and Kenya, with Kenya already assured of a place at the tournament as one of the co-hosts.
The Bafana captain also took time to praise the progress of the national Under-20 side, Amajita, after Raymond Mdaka’s team secured their place at the 2027 U20 AFCON.
Amajita reached the final of the U20 COSAFA Cup after beating Zambia on Saturday, with their qualification for the continental tournament coming back-to-back after they won the U20 AFCON in 2025. South Africa defeated world champions Morocco in the 2025 U20 AFCON final.
Williams believes the latest generation of Amajita players could eventually provide the senior national team with more talent, particularly with Mosimane already indicating that he will monitor the progress of the youngsters.
“First and foremost, congratulations to the Under-20 team, Amajita, for what they’ve done by qualifying again back-to-back,” he added.
“That’s the step you want to take, to be there and be a constant feature there. They’ve done that again.
“When you saw the fourth goal from Emile Witbooi, dribbling past so many players and then slotting the ball into the back of the net, it was amazing. He’s a high-quality player, and you see that week in and week out at Cape Town City.
“The team they have, in a few years, some of them will be knocking on the senior national team door. We’ve got a coach, Pitso Mosimane, who mentioned in his previous press conference that he’ll be keeping his eye on them.
“So they need to keep working hard, go out there and win AFCON again. Definitely, in a few years, or even months for some of them, they’ll be part of the senior team.
“They don’t need to look any further than our team. Some of our guys are playing COSAFA and AFCON, and some of their peers are doing the same.
“They need to keep going. They’ve kept the country’s flag very high. We’re happy for them and definitely wish them all the best at AFCON.”
Amajita will now face Mozambique in the U20 COSAFA Cup final on Sunday, with both nations already having secured their places at the 2027 U20 AFCON after reaching the final.
