Locally, it is seen as one of the highlights of the career of any young player to form part of the esteemed development of Kaizer Chiefs. After all, it is the development that helped produce the likes of Itumeleng Khune, Doctor Khumalo and many a legend who have made a name for themselves in local football. However, the last few years have seen the landscape change drastically in terms of the club's development players. A trend has developed where players struggle to find teams after parting ways with the Glamour Boys having not made the step up to the first team. Many find themselves playing in the second, third and fourth tiers of South African football – some disappearing from football altogether! Why is it that products of one of the most renowned academies struggle to find clubs after leaving the Soweto giants? Could it be that coaches have developed a stigma against these players? Or is it a case of Chiefs simply failing to produce players that are good enough? The Siya crew delves deeper into the struggles faced by some Amakhosi development products…
What The Siya Crew Has Been Told…
Usually, a particular focus is placed on the Kaizer Chiefs DStv Diski Challenge side, a hub for the players who have come through the club's flourishing academy and are poised for first-team action, many of whom have made the step up to the club's senior side since the inception of the tournament in 2014. The Siya crew spoke to two players – one who currently plays for a different club in the DStv Premiership, and another who finds himself in the football wilderness after leaving the Glamour Boys – whose identity is withheld out of 'fear or victimization'. The player playing in the topflight revealed how he struggled for four years to find a club after leaving Amakhosi's reserve side due to limited chances of breaking into the first team. "If you are in the Kaizer Chiefs structure, immediately you get the feeling that it's a big team. You feel like you are a professional player from the treatment you receive, both inside and outside the club, to the facilities and the apparel you receive. "The problem is that this very treatment, for lack of a better word, 'spoils' us as players, where it becomes the norm. There is also so much competition from within the team because the club recruits all the top players at youth level from different teams. Once you are in the MDC (MultiChoice Diski Challenge, now known as DStv Diski Challenge) for about a year or so, you can already see who is going to be promoted to the first team or not. It is often very few players. I remember in my first year in the MDC, only three players were promoted from our team. It means that 20 players were left behind. Those players are all scattered now. "It was tough to leave Chiefs, but it was even tougher finding a new team as an ex- Chiefs player. I had to go to the Vodacom (ABC Motsepe) League to start over. Imagine, from being close to Chiefs' first team to Vodacom, not even Mvela (Motsepe Foundation Championship) – that is taking three steps back," he said of his battle after leaving the club. His sentiments are echoed by the player in the wilderness at age 27. "It's tough getting into that Chiefs first team, I don't wanna lie. The coaches will tell you to keep pushing, but it's hard to do so when you see what's happening, my brother. Even after you leave Chiefs, you are seen as a reject, while your former teammates are in the first team. "So, wherever you go, you have to show that you played for Chiefs. All the coaches expect you to be (Lionel) Messi as a former Chiefs player. That is why I stopped playing. It's not to say that I have given up, but I am getting older and I have to explore other options besides football. "I have searched for a while after leaving Chiefs. I can't tell you how many trials I have gone to – but every time teams hear that I am from Chiefs, they expect miracles and sometimes the fitness is not there. Others have painful words and tell you that you are a Chiefs reject. That thing is painful," revealed the player.
What Are The Facts?
Since the start of the Diski Challenge side in 2014, 28 players have been promoted to the Glamour Boys' first team, which is an average of three players per season making the step up. Given that the club's reserve squads on average boast squads of 20 players per season, it means that 153 players would have to find other teams in that time period – many whom have struggled to do so and have disappeared into football's wilderness. A cursory glance at teams currently campaigning in the Motsepe Foundation Championship reveals a litany of former Chiefs players. A point in case would be Yusuf Bunting, who got promoted to the Naturena-based outfit's first team on a four-year deal in 2017. The forward performed tremendously well for the reserve side, playing in the Diski Challenge. He was crowned as the Best Player and Top Goalscorer at the SAB U21 National Championship in 2017. Following a loan spell with Highlands Park, Bunting confirmed to the Siya crew in 2021 that he received his payout from the Soweto giants, after he was released by the club in 2019 with two years still left on his contract. The striker has turned to teaching at the age of 27. Another example of this would be Emmanuel Letlotlo. 'Adebayor', as he is nicknamed, was crowned the Diski Challenge's Top Goalscorer, netting nine goals in 15 matches to win the prize in the 2015/16 season. The striker was promoted to the Amakhosi first team but struggled with injury and was amongst the players released in the 2019/20 campaign. Since parting ways with the side, Letlotlo has had numerous ill-fated spells in the third and fourth tiers. The latest regarding the marksman is that he has been on the books of Postmasburg FC in the Northern Cape ABC Motsepe League. While these are just two examples of players, there are countless others who have struggled since leaving Chiefs.
The Story Behind The Scenes
Are Chiefs Producing The Best Quality?
With so many players struggling to make the grade at the remaining 15 DStv Premiership clubs, the question begs as to whether there is a lack of opportunity or whether the Amakhosi development players lack the required quality…"Chiefs has too much quality. Most of the Chiefs players are scattered and when they do make it to the first team, I don't know whether to call it luck or what, but most of the quality players are not at the club. I speak for myself when I say I wanted to play for the first team, each and every kid wants to play for them, but I felt like time was not on my side and there were no signs from the team that showed I would be promoted, so I felt let me try elsewhere and see," the player told Soccer Laduma. Renowned youth coach Floyd Mogale, who enjoyed a stint with the Soweto giants as a youth coach, feels that Chiefs' lack of quality is the reason behind these players struggling elsewhere. "Look at (Mamelodi) Sundowns, when you go to the ABC (Motsepe League) and you go to the Motsepe Foundation (Championship), half of the teams have got players who have come from Sundowns. When it comes to Chiefs, you find a few at Casric Stars, one here or there. When you develop players, you are not only developing for your first team, you are developing for other teams too. I can give you a list of 20 players in the PSL and NFD who have come through Sundowns. Can we say the same for Chiefs? Chiefs are slacking. Go to the top six teams in the NFD, just look at how many players are there from Chiefs. It's a worry for a big team like Chiefs."
The Players' Role In Their Misfortune
Amakhosi are not solely to blame, according to the player. The club provides top-class facilities, medical care and coaching… sometimes to the players' peril, as they look for similar conditions after leaving Naturena Village. "Because Chiefs are as top as they are with everything, players tend to look for Chiefs in every team they go to. But Chiefs is Chiefs, you'll never find that anywhere else in the country – it's a fact. We also see that sometimes these players slack when they go to other clubs because they have played for Chiefs, so they do not feel the need to work as hard as other players, which is wrong. I think as a player going to another club, regardless of whether it is in the Motsepe Foundation Championship or the DStv Premiership, you have to work even harder than your teammates because you come from Chiefs. You must show that Chiefs produce quality. "You also need to have heart. Some of my former teammates don't have the heart to fight after things don't work out at Chiefs. Maybe that is the reason why they have disappeared. Look at the likes of Zitha (Kwinika) who left Chiefs and had to go to Mvela – but where is he now? Chiefs bought him back. Heartbreak is something you experience all the time in football, so you have to be strong and keep moving. Look at me, today I get to play against the very same Chiefs who developed me. Who knows, if I keep performing well, the club might look to sign me again because I am not a stranger to them."
Secret Agent
The Siya crew spoke to a top agent in SA to get their expert understanding on what's going on. For obvious reasons, the agent will remain anonymous.
"It's a concerning situation and a never-ending trend, and somebody has to eventually stand up and say something, though it will rattle feathers. It will make people very uncomfortable, and it will create a lot of hatred. But at least somebody needs to stand up and be a voice to the voiceless. It's a combination of factors. Players at Chiefs are very spoiled, they are very well-taken care of more than most academies. I sat down with one of my boys who's been playing MDC at another top club for the past two seasons and he told me about the terrible conditions they live under. On the surface, it looks like they are living their best life, but beneath the surface it's something far, far different. At Chiefs, players are well-taken care of and for them to make the adjustment to move from Chiefs to another club that lacks resources, proper organization and professionalism, it is very difficult for some boys and especially those that have been at Chiefs for a long time. The readjustment to the situation is very difficult. With that being said, it does not erase the immense talent that is always at Kaizer Chiefs' disposal. In the academy, most of the players are at a very, very good level in their age groups in South Africa, very good level, so they can easily walk into any other club, but it's the readjustment that becomes a factor. For those that are very, very talented and the club still wants to keep, and they don't want to remain there, they feel like they are at a point in their life or in their career where they need to step up to a new challenge. Chiefs usually make it difficult for them to get those clubs. The players themselves, or with the help of an agent, do get clubs, but the problem will be now when the clearance certificate or letter has to be issued, Chiefs will start demanding crazy figures. So, it makes a lot of clubs take a step back and say, 'No, we're not going to do this'."
Watch This Space
Making it into the Chiefs development is a dream for many, with the club being viewed as one of the biggest on the African continent. That dream, however, is cut short for a large majority of these players as only a select few make it into the club's first team from the development ranks. Having spoken to two players and a leading development coach, what is needed for the Soweto giants is to ensure they develop players good enough to succeed at other DStv Premiership clubs. In addition, players who leave Amakhosi have to put in the same amount of work that saw them being selected by the club in the first place, even if they do leave in the process. The likes of Zitha Kwinika, Lebohang Maboe and Mduduzi Mdantsane have all shown that it is possible.
