Is it too soon to assume a new dawn for Kaizer Chiefs?

by Nomonde Simelane

After wrapping up a less than desirable 2024/25 Betway Premier Soccer League (PSL) season, it appears to be a new dawn for Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs, who have secured three consecutive wins to start the 2025/26 season.

Approximately 55 years ago, Kaizer Motaung founded Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, which has come to be more than just a team to support for millions of South Africans. Rather, it has now become a beacon of pride and joy for many fans. With a total of 93 trophies, the club has become one of the biggest and most successful teams in the country, which can be seen by their electric home games that often fill the FNB Stadium up to its 94,736 capacity.

Going into the 2024/25 season, the Glamour Boys exuded the utmost confidence, all the way from their front office, to their hand-picked team. After a drawn-out recruitment process, the Soweto Giants finally landed on Tunisian tactician Nasreddine Nabi as the chosen man to lead the team to their desired goals as head coach. They also managed to make some notable moves, such as signing goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwali, as well as shedding some veterans in hopes of a rebuild with a younger core.

After much trial and error, the fan-favourite team failed to put the pieces together in time to make a significant run in the league, and narrowly missed qualifying for the top eight in ninth position. This marked one of the worst performances by Chiefs, and saw supporters demanding the front office to finally make some notable changes, in order to adequately prepare for the 2025/26 season.

With a few games under the belt, Kaizer Chiefs have displayed a renewed and rejuvenated energy to begin the new season, and have managed to secure three wins in three matches. Their cool, calm and collected demeanor has given fans a renewed sense of pride and confidence, while their neighbours and other big teams such as Orlando Pirates struggle to find their footing.

Furthermore, their recent acquisition of 19-year-old Luke Baartman from Cape Town Spurs has given fans even more confidence of coming out on top, winning the PSL title at the end of the season.

With Kaizer Chiefs fans gaining a reputation for being some of the most insufferable winners, it comes as no surprise that humility has not been a word in their vocabulary as of late. These fans have not held back when it comes to boasting about their team’s success, while also rubbing salt in their opponent’s wounds, similarly to what was done to them last season.

Also see: Orlando Pirates mourns the passing of former striker Tendai Ndoro