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South Africa have appointed Stuart Baxter as Shakes Mashaba's successor, the nation's football association (Safa) confirmed in a statement on Thursday. Mashaba was sacked in December for 'gross misconduct', and despite several high-profile coaches being linked to the post, Safa have opted to bring Baxter back for a second stint as Bafana Bafana boss. The Scot, who is currently head coach at PSL side SuperSport United, previously held the reins between 2004 and 2005, but quit after South Africa failed to reach the 2006 World Cup. "The coach has the skills to navigate the tough qualification path for the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup," Safa CEO Dennis Mumble began in a statement released on the association's official website [www.safa.net]. "We thank SuperSport United for their support towards the goals of the association and its national teams." The 63-year-old will remain with his current employers until July, guiding Matsatsantsa through their Confederation Cup group games and their final four league matches, before beginning to oversee Bafana's qualification for the 2018 World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019. South Africa are currently second in Caf's World Cup qualifying Group D -- level on points with Burkina Faso -- while they have been pooled alongside Nigeria, Libya and the Seychelles in the race to reach Cameroon in two years' time. Wolverhampton-born Baxter played for Preston North End, Helsingborgs IF and South Melbourne FC among others during his playing career, while he's held posts as diverse as Kaizer Chiefs, England U-19s and Finland during a nomadic 32-year managerial career. He missed two of SuperSport's matches last month after undergoing emergency surgery following some unspecified health issues. The former midfielder has also coached in Japan with Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Vissel Kobe, as well as with Swedish giants AIK and Genclerbirligi in 2015. He won the Allsvenskan title with AIK in 1998, and twice guided Chiefs to the South African title.
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