Mailula never lost Bafana hope, and eyes impact under mentor Mosimane

Mailula, who is now back with Bafana, is off to a good start with Sundowns in the domestic league, and it’s his first call-up since 2023.

The 25-year-old striker had been part of former head coach Hugo Broos’ plans before, but his move to the Major Soccer League and FC Toronto, and lack of game time, complicated things for him. But now back at Sundowns and with the coach who promoted him at Sundowns, Pitso Mosimane back in charge at Bafana, Mailula never doubted his chances.

"No, obviously for me, I've always believed that I belong to the national team not because of the quality that I have. Even with the previous coach, I was called up, but unfortunately, things did not work out the way I wanted them to. I was not playing at my club. And also, it shows it doesn't matter who you are – you need to play at club level to earn a call-up," said Mailula.

READ: Sundowns FIFA Cup victory to live in history books – Aubrey Modiba

"So for me now, coming back home to South Africa to play more games gave me a lot of confidence that if you do well, especially knowing that I am playing for a big club, you know, if you do well, you have a chance to come back to the national team."

"So, of course, when I saw the list, I was in camp, so it made me so happy to be included, especially because the coach knows me. He saw me when I was 16 years old, so that made me so happy. I was not even surprised because I know he believes in me, and he gave me the opportunity to play for Mamelodi Sundowns also."

Mailula is expected to play a leading role when Bafana Bafana play their opening AFCON 2027 qualifier against Guinea at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday. 

During the eight-year period that Mosimane spent at Sundowns, he usually had some pre-season camps outside the country and around the continent. It was in one of these camps where he called up Mailula, at that time only 16 and one of the best-performing strikers from the Sundowns academy. Mailula, who hails from Ga-Malepo in Limpopo, also knows how demanding Mosimane is, and he’ll have to hit the ground running.

Mailula has not had successful spells overseas, a period that also saw him struggling to break into the national team due to a lack of game time. After stints in the USA, Morocco, and Belgium, he says that now that he’s back home, he’s developed a strong hunger to wear the national team colours and learnt a lot from that difficult period.