1996 African champion, Helman Mkhalele to attend TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2025 Draw

Former African champion and South Africa assistant coach, Helman Mkhalele will be attending the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final Draw in Rabat, Morocco on Tuesday.

The former attacking midfielder who has since taken up a coaching role as an assistant to Hugo Broos at Bafana Bafana will be present to witness which group the former champions will be drawn in when CAF conducts the draw at the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat.

Affectionately known as the “Midnight Express Train” during his playing days as a speedy left winger, Mkhalele lifted the coveted TotalEnergies CAF AFCON title on home soil on Bafana Bafana’s debut in 1996.

Mkhalele’s last appearance as a player was at the 2000 finals in Ghana and Nigeria where they finished third.

Exactly 24 years later, the now 55-year-old was part of the Hugo Broos led Bafana Bafana technical team that masterminded an unexpected third place finish in Cote d’Ivoire.

“For me to be a part of this generation, I can’t really find words to describe the amazing journey with this current crop of players because you can even see that when you tell them such stories, the hunger and how the nation adores you is something they also want to experience” said Mkhalele speaking to CAFOnline at the Cote d’Ivoire finals last year.

South Africa qualified for the Morocco finals after finishing top of Group K with zero defeats in a group consisting of Uganda, Congo and South Sudan.