In a surprising development, DStv Premiership club Kaizer Chiefs handed the head coaching duties over to former South Africa national team coach Molefi Ntseki on Wednesday. After being linked with former Young Africans SC coach Nasreddine Nabi for a long period the club decided to hire from within, promoting Ntseki from his previous position as head of technical and youth development. Ntseki will be assisted by previous head coach Arthur Zwane and Dillon Sheppard as Chiefs look to improve on a poor 2022-23 campaign.
Ntseki’s last head coaching job was with the South Africa national team where he was dismissed following a 2-0 defeat at Sudan, a result that saw Bafana Bafana fail to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung Sr. stated that the appointment of Ntseki is intended to maintain stability in the club’s coaching ranks as new players are brought in to improve the team’s performance.
Kaizer Chiefs finished in fifth place in the recently completed DStv Premiership season, failing to qualify for CAF club competition for the third consecutive year. The focus for Amakhosi this upcoming campaign is on reaching the top-3 and competing for the title, a tall task for Ntseki considering the dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns and strides made by rivals Orlando Pirates as well as clubs like Cape Town City and SuperSport United.
The last achievement of note for Chiefs was finishing as runners-up in South Africa’s top tier in the 2019-20 season. Chiefs followed up that accomplishment with a surprise run to the 2020-21 CAF Champions League final where the club lost to Egypt’s Al Ahly even as their domestic performance was sliding to its current point.
