Chiefs eye African glory: Motaung Jnr says real test comes in 2026

Kaizer Motaung Jnr

Johannesburg – Kaizer Chiefs sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr says the club will only know next year how much progress they have made this season, as the team balances domestic success with a rocky start to their continental campaign.

“We have jam-packed fixtures coming up from January since the AFCON is coming and the World Cup next year. I think the period when we come back in January will be the true test of where we are. So, it is very much keeping our heads on the ground and making sure that we stay focused,” Motaung Jnr told reporters this week, according to The Citizen.

“We have done very well in terms of one area, which is reducing the number of goals that we concede, but now we need to make sure we convert our chances. It is a work in progress.

“I think the technical staff in the first team, coach Khalil, and coach Cedric are working very hard together with the analysis team. There is a lot more understanding. I know that we had a result that we didn’t want this past weekend (against Al Masry), but we are very focused.”

Strong domestic form

In the Betway Premiership, Chiefs have lost just one match so far and sit three points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, with a game in hand.

This marks a significant improvement from last season’s ninth-place finish, when the club missed out on MTN8 qualification for the second consecutive year.

Motaung Jnr noted the team has improved defensively, reducing the number of goals conceded, but added that converting scoring opportunities remains “a work in progress”.

Continental challenges

Chiefs’ CAF Confederation Cup campaign got off to a shaky start with a 2‑1 away loss to Egypt’s Al Masry in their Group D opener on 23 November.

Al Masry scored via Bonheur Mugisha’s penalty in the 59th minute, while Dillon Solomons briefly equalised in the 66th minute.

Mohamed Hashem sealed the win in the 87th minute following a defensive error by Chiefs. (Ahram

Interim coach Khalil Ben Youssef acknowledged that many Chiefs players were inexperienced at continental level and highlighted the challenge of balancing national team duties and recovering from injuries.

“I think more than 80% of our players were playing this type of competition for the first time [against Al Masry]… it [the Confederation Cup] is different from the PSL. It’s a competition where you need to be more focused and be more aggressive,” Sowetan quoted Ben Youssef as saying.

“We were expecting this game to be tough for both teams. I am happy about the performance of our players… I think we did very well. The only problem was experience… In this type of tournament, if you want to win, you can’t make the type of mistakes we made.”

Group D tests continue

Chiefs are set to face Egyptian giants Zamalek at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium this Saturday.

Although Zamalek are not as dominant as in previous years, they remain a formidable opponent.

According to the Kaizer Chiefs website, Motaung Jnr called the encounter an opportunity to test the team’s progress and build momentum in the group.

“It’s an historic occasion, being the first time we’ve reached the group stages of the Confed Cup. We are very excited and I think there’s a bit of history within the group. We have faced Zamalek and Zesco in continental competition before. We have never beaten a Zambian team in a competition so we will be looking to put that right. It’s going to be very tough but we are looking forward to our African journey.”

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

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