The future of Helman Mkhalele seems to be bleak.

The former Bafana Bafana assistant coach has been off the grid since parting ways with the national team after the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Mkhalele spent five years at Bafana as Hugo Broos’s assistant, where they guided the team to an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) bronze medal in 2023, qualified for the World Cup for the first time in nearly 25 years and ultimately ended a 16-year absence from the global showpiece.

Bafana went on to progress to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time in the history of South African football. Mkhalele was in the thick of things in achieving that feat.

Speaking to Sunday World recently at his home in Bryanston, north of Johannesburg, development guru Augusto Palacios said Mkhalele, whom he coached at Bafana between 1992 and 1994, has what it takes to coach at club level because of his national team experience.

“I think he was in the most difficult and challenging space with the national team, being an assistant coach at the Afcon twice, and the World Cup is an experience that not many coaches get. No one can take it away from him,” Palacios said.

“Mkhalele has better experience than most coaches now coaching at club level.

“He is still fairly young but it is up to him to take up that challenge. I strongly believe he has enough experience now.”

• Helman Mkhalele was assistant coach of Bafana Bafana under Hugo Broos for five years.
• During his tenure, Bafana won an Afcon bronze medal in 2023 and qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first time in nearly 25 years.
• The team reached the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time in South African football history.
• Mkhalele has been out of the public football scene since leaving the national team after the 2026 World Cup.
• Augusto Palacios, who coached Mkhalele in the early 1990s, believes Mkhalele has sufficient experience to coach at the club level.