Broos Furious Over Mbokazi Missing Flight
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos expressed frustration with Mbekezeli Mbokazi after the powerful defender missed his flight from Durban to Pretoria to join the national team for their preparations ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Broos said he had been trying to avoid speaking about Mbokazi, even though the question posed to him was about the defender’s move to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire in the USA.
The former Cameroon coach has previously voiced his concerns about South African players moving to the USA, having overlooked Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Cassius Mailula for that reason.
Mailula joined Toronto FC in 2023 from Mamelodi Sundowns, but Broos had urged him to remain at Sundowns and wait for opportunities in Europe, arguing that agents were only chasing commissions rather than prioritising player development.
When the media expected Broos to oppose Mbokazi’s move to Chicago Fire, as he had done in the past, the coach instead revealed information the media was previously unaware of regarding the young defender.
“Mbokazi—he just arrived or will arrive in 15 minutes,” Broos told the media on Wednesday at the Bafana Bafana camp.
“I didn’t want to speak about it, but okay, you asked the question, and you have the right to know that I’m not pleased with what he did.
“He informed us that he missed his flight yesterday [Tuesday] in Durban. It was the Orlando Pirates coach [Abdelsam Ouaddou] who told me, and he was very angry that the boy missed his flight. His words were: ‘It’s an unprofessional attitude.’
“And I think I’ve already spoken to you about the unprofessional behaviour of South African players. This is another example. Then Pirates sent me a message with nonsense—really nonsense—about why he missed his plane. I won’t tell you what the nonsense was, but the worst part is that a club protects a player after such unprofessional behaviour.
“This is South Africa, and it is very bad—very, very bad. When you’re a 19-year-old [now 20] and you receive a national-team call-up to play at AFCON and possibly the World Cup next year, and the coach even gives you a few extra days off.
“If you have the right attitude, you don’t even want those two days. You would be here on Monday, like the other players.
“So, I will have a chat with him [Mbokazi] after training. And I can assure you, he is a black guy, and he will walk out of my room as a white guy.
“Because I can’t accept this. But I know why—because suddenly Mbokazi 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.”
Mbokazi, who will join Chicago Fire in January after the conclusion of the Africa Cup of Nations, played his final match for Orlando Pirates on Saturday in the Carling Knockout Cup final, where he lifted the trophy with the Buccaneers after defeating Marumo Gallants at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
