Tributes have followed from across South African football, including from Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, who praised Broos for the humility he showed the continent's players and coaches throughout his tenure.
"What I like in him is somebody who came to our continent with a lot of humility, using the competencies of the continent," Ouaddou said. "He's somebody who believes in Africans."
Broos leaves South African football with a legacy few of his predecessors can match. Since taking charge in 2021, he guided Bafana Bafana to back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations tournaments — including a bronze medal in 2023 — before leading the team to the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup, the first time South Africa has ever reached the tournament's knockout stage. He previously won the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon in 2017.
Ouaddou pointed to Broos' willingness to trust homegrown talent and work closely with domestic coaches, rather than impose an outside system, as central to that success. Several Pirates players — past and present — were given senior international opportunities by the Belgian during his tenure, including Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi, Relebohile Mofokeng and Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
With Broos' departure now confirmed, attention turns to SAFA's search for a successor ahead of 2027 AFCON qualifying. For Ouaddou and Pirates, though, Friday was about acknowledging what the outgoing coach built.