Kaizer Chiefs Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Junior says the membership entered the 2025/26 season utterly conscious that their ambitions would demand a deeper squad, superior planning and multiplied participant administration as they navigate each the Betway Premiership and the CAF Confederation Cup.
Amakhosi presently take a seat 2nd on the home log and have now improved to the crew tiers of the continental competition, intensifying an already stressful schedule.
According to Motaung Junior, the club’s recruitment approach used to be fashioned via the want for balance, depth and readiness for the bodily and logistical challenges ahead.
“I suppose it talks to some of why we recruited some of the gamers we did this year. I mean, we’re no longer commonly a group that has the measurement of squad that we have,” he explained.
“I assume it’s very calculated. This is one of the motives why. Logistics, travelling, plausible of injuries, shape dipping, special competitions to play.”
“So I assume we can put together as fine we can. And the squad size, the squad’s quality… our sports activities science and scientific branch at this second in time is going to play a fundamental function getting ready the guys, damage prevention. Knowing the place we’re going now, we can take a seat and design logistics and apprehend how do we weave thru the one-of-a-kind competitions.”
With the CAF team stage extending into the January switch window, Chiefs will additionally have a uncommon probability to support mid-campaign, even though Motaung Junior warns that chemistry is simply as necessary as recruitment.
“The crew stage will additionally go into that switch window as well… we’re constantly searching to red meat up. But you additionally have to manipulate the chemistry inside the team. The squad at the second wishes a little bit of time to settle. Everyone wants time to carry what they can, however we’re constantly looking.”

Meanwhile, after Asanele Velebayi ultimately made his debut for Kaizer Chiefs, his former educate at Cape Town Spurs, Benson Mhlongo has mentioned what the 22-year-old has to offer.
After a dream go to Chiefs became into a nightmare early this season, as Spurs disputed Velebayi’s free company popularity thru the courts, the Phillipi native attacker was once in the end cleared and used to be at the beginning on the bench in opposition to Siwelele, Durban City and AS Simba in the CAF Confederation Cup.
The former Urban Warriors winger eventually made his debut, a shock begin in opposition to Orbit College ultimate week, the place he performed seventy six minutes, in arguably Amakhosi’s nice overall performance of the season, the place they ran away with a 4-1 victory.
The 22-year-old caught the eye with his composure on the ball and his link-up play with the likes of Mduduzi Shabalala and Mfundo Vilakazi, who are greater or much less his peers.
Mhlongo, who was once the assistant train at Spurs ultimate season in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, has given perception on what Velebayi has to offer, as he pleaded with Amakhosi supporters to be affected person with him and Luke Baartman, who was once additionally at the Urban Warriors.
“He’s quick, excellent on the ball, he simply wants to polish his ending however a very technical player. He can play each wings, even in the centre,” Mhlongo described his profile, speakme completely to Soccer Laduma.
“With him becoming a member of Chiefs, he can solely grow. You recognize supporters are impatient however with these younger boys they should be patient. Unfortunately we misplaced him toward the quit of closing season about three or 4 matches, we could not have him due to the fact of injury.
“He gained video games for us. For us to be secure (before he obtained injured) it used to be him and Luke Baartman. So dropping him at a quintessential stage fee us as a team. But he is (Velebayi) a accurate participant that can lift the group given an opportunity,” Mhlongo said.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates defender went on and lifted the lid on Velebayi’s personality, after he used to be made Spurs captain closing season.
“It’s due to the fact he is true (that he used to be made captain). He’s accurate in his personal right. He carried the group barring speaking however performing. He would not discuss a lot however he performs,” Mhlongo added.

Kaizer Chiefs’ regular growth beneath co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef is beginning to mirror in the ultra-modern Africa membership rankings.
For the first time in 5 seasons Chiefs are one of the contenders for the Betway Premiership title after at least one 0.33 of the season played, as a 4-1 thumping of Orbit College a week in the past moved them up to 0.33 in the standings from eleven matches, three factors in the back of leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have performed an greater sport than Amakhosi.
With FootballDatabase’s internet site ranking golf equipment global primarily based on home and continental competitions (CAF rankings are solely based totally on inter-continental tournaments), Chiefs, from Africa’s perspective, have damaged via to the pinnacle one hundred for the first time this season.
Amakhosi on the African continent are ranked 98th, which suggests an improvement, after hovering outdoor the pinnacle a hundred for the majority of the preceding few seasons.
With 1363 factors on the board, The Glamour Boys are simply forty three factors away from breaking into the pinnacle 50 in Africa, as they are displaying a massive promise of at least ending in a first rate role in the Betway Premiership, after no longer making the pinnacle eight for the previous two campaigns.
Ahead of their first CAF Confederation Cup crew stage campaign, Chiefs’ opponents in Group D, Zamalek, are ranked ninth, Al Masry 31st, and Zesco United are in thirty sixth vicinity on the continent.
For perspective, the Soweto giants, however, are nonetheless rated seventh in the country, with the likes of TS Galaxy (81st in Africa), Stellenbosch (71st), and Sekhukhune United (60) ranked greater than them.
Mamelodi Sundowns stays by way of a long way the highest-ranked South African team, rated 0.33 on the continent by means of the equal website, solely at the back of second-placed Al Ahly and Pyramids, who lately gained the CAF Champions League and Super Cup titles.