The recent loss to Royal AM on Sunday's glorified Macufe Cup showed not only how far Kaizer Chiefs has fallen, but that the fall is worse than anybody imagined.
Once upon a time it was most young boy's dream to don the gold and black of the Phefeni boys and fast forward to 2015/16 and the signs were showing that Chiefs is falling behind. I read a quote that once said ; "it is not about the survival of the fittest, but the survival of those most adaptable to change."
Somehow a giant of African football is run like an amateur team where we've had instances of players being announced before the new coach, where there's rumours of interference with team selection as some scouts also happen to be player agents and complete breakdown down in communication between management and the technical team.
After Stuart Baxter had won the last league title in Chiefs' history, he sighted management interference as the reason he vacated his post. He allegedly arrived one morning to find one of his most trusted players, Kingston Nkatha not at training and was introduced to former Chippa United striker Philani Zulu as Nkatha's replacement. He was never consulted regarding the transfer or even asked for his input on the proper replacement as Nkatha was not a fan favourite, but his work rate was second to none. Nkatha didn't score many goals, but it was his movement that allowed his teammates goal scoring opportunities. Sort of like the old David Radebe and Collins Mbesuma duo.
It's been downhill from there, and Chiefs is officially a mercenary club. Full of players enticed by good wages, a boost their social image and personal sponsorships by being associated with a brand like Kaizer Chiefs. None of the "Big" signings have lived up to expectations, let alone bring silverware they promised the fans upon their arrival. From the outside looking in, Chiefs has nothing but hope to ever catch up with Sundowns. The irony is that most Chiefs supporters claim Sundowns is destroying SA football by buying all the top talent, yet in the 2022/23 seasons both Chiefs and Pirates have bought more players (9 each) than Sundowns (7). The difference is Sundowns have a structure in place and sign players to improve or add variety to their play. The Soweto giants on the other hand, sign any player who has scored atleast thrice against them, without an idea of how that player would fit in the team's culture and set up.
The real question here is, why would an upcoming youngster sign for Kaizer Chiefs when there are other, brighter prospects like Cape Town City, Stellenbosch, Sundowns and SuperSport United to name a few. Teams with a clear streamlined project that ensures that the best talent has a clear path to the senior team. Teams who are constantly working on being better and toppling the dinosaur regime.
It's unfortunate that Kaizer Chiefs' new hoodoo team Royal AM has stripped them of the little pride they had left in the Macufe Cup. A tournament without any qualification rounds, simply for the pleasure of the public during the International break. Now most of these players will retire without any Silverware, let alone Jerseys they got from international players because they can't even make continental tournaments... what a shame.
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