Pitso Mosimane to receive an honorary doctorate from UJ

Former Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane is set to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in recognition of his success as a football player and coach.

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In a statement, the university said Mosimane has achieved notable success as a football player and national and international coach.

“He won the South African Football Association Coach of the Year Award, was awarded the PSL Coach of the Season Award on five occasions and was named the CAF Coach of the Year in 2016. Such accomplishments demonstrate his exceptional leadership, strategic acumen, and ability to motivate and inspire a team to perform at the highest level,” read the statement from UJ.

“Mr. Mosimane has been vocal about the potential and quality of African football and has consistently advocated for African players to receive equal opportunities and recognition in global football. His outspokenness has helped shed light on the talent pool in Africa and the need for increased investment and development in the continent’s football infrastructure.

“He continues to excel in this avenue with the development of the Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools. Mosimane’s success has broken barriers and shattered stereotypes, demonstrating that African coaches and players can excel at the highest levels of the game.”

The ceremony is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 25, at 4.30pm.

Mosimane started his playing career at Jomo Cosmos, before he went on to play for Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates. He then went to Greece to join Ionikos to play. He later joined Belgian team KFC Rita Berlaar and Qatari club Al Sadd.

After hanging up his coach Mosimane coached the Rita Berlaar, but late came back to South Africa to join SuperSport United as an assistant coach to Bruce Grobbelaar and took over as head coach between 2001 and 2007.

After serving as Carlos Alberto Parreira and Joel Santana’s assistant at Bafana, Mosimane was handed the head coaching reigns in 2010. He was fired by Safa in 2012 after failing to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.

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He later joined Mamelodi Sundowns in 2012 where he won the league titles five times and several other trophies as well as the Caf Champions League in 2016 and was later named .

Mosimane has also coached African giants Al-Ahly, where he won the Champions League twice, the Caf Super Cup twice as well as the Egyptian Cup.

He is currently the head coach of Abha Club in Saudi Arabia.