 | |
| Full name | Kaizer Chiefs Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nicknames |
|
| Short name | Chiefs |
| Founded | 7 January 1970; 55 years ago (1970-01-07) |
| Stadium | FNB Stadium |
| Capacity | 94,797 |
| Owner | Kaizer Motaung |
| Chairman | Kaizer Motaung |
| League | Betway Premiership |
| 2024–25 | 9th |
| Website | www |
 Current season | |
Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known asChiefs) is a South African professionalfootball club based in Naturena,Johannesburg South, that plays in thePremiership. The team is nicknamedAmaKhosi, which means "Kings" or "Chiefs" inZulu, and thePhefeni Glamour Boys. Chiefs have won numerous league titles and cup trophies. The most recent domestic trophy was the2024–25 Nedbank Cup. They hold the most trophies amongst all clubs in South Africa and are the most successful team in South African football history since the start of the top flight in 1970.
The team has a strong local rivalry, theSoweto derby, withOrlando Pirates, a fellow Soweto team that Chiefs founderKaizer Motaung played for in his early playing career.[1] Famous players who donned the black-and-gold jersey in the past include former national team captainsNeil Tovey andLucas Radebe as well asPatrick Ntsoelengoe,Gary Bailey,John "Shoes" Moshoeu,Shaun Bartlett,Steve Komphela,Siyabonga Nomvete, andDoctor Khumalo.
It is the most supported team inSouth Africa. Kaizer Chiefs had a support base of over 16 million at the turn of the century. They drew an average home attendance of 16,144 in the2019–20 season, the highest in the league. The team plays many of its home matches at the 94,797-capacityFNB Stadium.[2] In January 2025, Kaizer Chiefs celebrated their 55th anniversary.[3]
Kaizer Chiefs FC was founded in January 1970 shortly after the return ofKaizer "Chincha Guluva" Motaung from theUnited States where he played as a striker for theAtlanta Chiefs of theNorth American Soccer League (NASL). He combined his own first name with the Atlanta Chiefs to create the name of Kaizer Chiefs. Several other people have played key roles in the formation and growth of Kaizer Chiefs, including the late Gilbert Sekgabi, Clarence Mlokoti, China Ngema, Ewert "The Lip" Nene, and Rabelani Jan Mofokeng, he trailed and quit because of work.[4] Club manager Bobby Motaung, son of Kaizer Chiefs founder Kaizer Motaung, has been a key figure in the administration, recruitment and strategic direction of the club since the 1990s.[5][6]
Kaizer Chiefs are known as"Amakhosi" by its fans, aZulu word meaning "kings" or "chiefs". Their headquarters isKaizer Chiefs Village six kilometres south of Johannesburg.[4]
The 2001–02 season was one of the Club's most successful in their history as well as their most tragic. They won four major trophies in four months; theVodacom Challenge, theBP Top Eight, theCoca-Cola Cup, and theAfrican Cup Winners' Cup.[7] At the time the team was said to have been a team that was on"Operation vat alles" by its then public relations officer Putco Mafani,"vat alles" being anAfrikaans statement meaning"take everything" in English. However, the highs of cup wins was contrasted by the lows of theEllis Park Stadium disaster on 11 April 2001, in which 43 fans were crushed to death during theSoweto Derby between Chiefs and their arch-rivalsOrlando Pirates.[8]
By winning the African Cup Winners' Cup, Chiefs played the2001 CAF Champions League winnersAl Ahly ofEgypt in the2002CAF Super Cup. In April 2002, Kaizer Chiefs' achievements during 2001 were recognized as they were chosen as the "CAF Club of the Year" by theConfederation of African Football.[4]
In the 2003–04 season Chiefs were given the Fair Play Award at thePeace Cup inSouth Korea. Chiefs ended the season asleague champions, winning thePremiership for the first time in their history.[9]
During the championship race of the2004–05 soccer season, Chiefs overtook the season-long leaders (Orlando Pirates) in the last game of the season to defend its PSL championship. Under the leadership ofRomanian coachTed Dumitru,Zambian strikerCollins Mbesuma had a record-breaking season scoring 39 goals in all competitions.[10]
Kaizer Chiefs' forays into Africa were temporarily scuttled by a Confederation of African Football (CAF) ban.[11] However, it still made its presence felt through the annualVodacom Challenge that pit Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates with an invitedEuropean club. Chiefs have won the Vodacom Challenge Cup 5 times since its inception. They beat a youngManchester United side 4–3 on penalties in the 2006 Challenge to win the trophy.[12]
In March 2007, coachErnst Middendorp and the club parted company. The club instantly appointed their rival Orlando Pirates' former coachKosta Papić for the remainder of the 2006–07 season.[13]
Muhsin Ertuğral returned for the 2007–08 season to begin his second stint with Chiefs, having already coachedThe Glamour Boys from 1999 until 2003.[14]
Under coach Ernst Middendorp in the 2019/20 season, Kaizer Chiefs topped the table from the seventh matchday of the season until infamously losing the title on the final day, which saw the club finishing two points behind winners Mamelodi Sundowns.[15]
On 26 June 2021, the team secured their firstCAF Champions League final appearance after defeatingWydad AC by a 1–0 aggregate.[16]
On 9 July 2021, Kaizer Chiefs confirmed through Twitter that they signed six players for next season after their transfer ban ended.[17] On 17 July 2021, they lost 3–0 againstAl Ahly in theChampions League Final.[18]
In the 2023/24 season, Kaizer chiefs finished in 10th position under the interim coach Cavin Johnson, making this their lowest finish in the PSL era.
TheAmakhosi have used no less than nine stadiums inJohannesburg as their home ground, and often rotated between several stadiums during the season. In August 2006, the club decided to develop their own stadium, theAmakhosi Stadium. However, this project has stalled.[19]
FNB Stadium is a stadium located inJohannesburg, with a capacity of 94,736 seats. It is located next to theSouth African Football Association headquarters (SAFA House), where both the FIFA offices and the Local Organising Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is housed.[20]
TheSoweto Derby between Kaizer Chiefs andOrlando Pirates is a fiercely-contested rivalry dating back to 1970, and in contrast to most other games in the South AfricanPremiership, always attracts a large fanbase.
Top-flight league titles: 12[21]
Premiership(from 1996–97 to date)
National Soccer League(1985 to 1995)
National Professional Soccer League(1971 to 1984)
Cups: 42
Nedbank Cup (National Cup)
League Cup (Datsun Challenge , JPS Knockout Cup, Rothmans Cup , Coca-Cola Cut, Telkom Knockout)
MTN 8 (Top 8 Tournament)
Individual Awards
Sales House Champ of Champs
Panasonic Cup
Ohlsson's Challenge Cup
Castle Challenge Cup
Stylo Cup
UCT Super Team Competition
Shell Helix Ultra Cup
CUFA Cup
Home of Legends Cup
Kaizer Chiefs qualified to play for the1997 CAF Champions League but withdrew from the competition. The team made their first CAF Cup appearance in the year 2000 and only made it to the round of 16. They had the same result in the2005 CAF Champions League and2014 CAF Champions League. In the2018 edition of the CAF Confederations Cup, Kaizer Chiefs reached the playoff round of 30 in which they were eliminated. Kaizer Chiefs are the runner-ups of the2020-21 CAF Champions League and the2002 CAF Super Cup after being crowned the Champions of the2001 African Cup Winners' Cup.
Chiefs were banned by theAfrican Football (CAF) from competing in African club competitions until 2009 after their abrupt withdrawal from the2005 CAF Confederation Cup. This was the second time in four years that Chiefs had been penalized by CAF for refusal to participate in acompetition.
| Competition | Result | Year |
|---|---|---|
| CAF champions League | Round of 16 | 1993 |
| Round of 16 | 2005 | |
| Round of 16 | 2014 | |
| Round of 32 | 2016 | |
| Runner-up | 2020-21 | |
| CAF Super Cup | Runner-up | 2002 |
| African Cup Winners' Cup | Withdrew | 1997 |
| Champions | 2001 | |
| Disqualified | 2002 | |
| CAF Cup | Round of 16 | 2000 |
| CAF Confederations Cup | Play-off Round | 2014 |
| Play-off round | 2018 |
Kaizer Chiefs' appearances in African competitions
Kaizer Chiefs are ranked 30th on theCAF 5-year ranking for the 2024-25 CAF club Season.
| Rank | Club | 2019–20 (× 1) | 2020–21 (× 2) | 2021–22 (× 3) | 2022–23 (× 4) | 2023–24 (× 5) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 |  Abu Salim | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 28 |  Stade Malien | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 30 |  Kaizer Chiefs | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-93 | Kappa | IWISA | [22] |
| 1993-94 | United Bank | ||
| 1994-96 | IWISA | ||
| 1996-97 | Reebok | ||
| 1997-99 | TOTAL | ||
| 1999-01 | Vodacom | ||
| 2001-23 | Nike | ||
| 2023–present | Kappa |
Doctor Khumalo 497Siphiwe Tshabalala 101Siphiwe Tshabalala 91Neil Tovey 52 (1992)
Collins Mbesuma – 35 2004/05| season | pos | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | win% | ||
| 1996–97 | 2nd | 34 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 56 | 23 | 33 | 66 | 52.9 % |
| 1997–98 | 2nd | 34 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 52 | 35 | 17 | 63 | 50 % |
| 1998–99 | 2nd | 34 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 73 | 34 | 39 | 75 | 67.6 % |
| 1999–2000 | 3rd | 34 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 40 | 22 | 18 | 60 | 47 % |
| 2000–01 | 2nd | 34 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 60 | 47 % |
| 2001–02 | 9th | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 38 | 33 | 5 | 49 | 35.29 % |
| 2002–03 | 6th | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 42 | 26 | 16 | 50 | 46.7 % |
| 2003–04 | Winners¹ | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 39 | 11 | 28 | 63 | 60 % |
| 2004–05 | Winners² | 30 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 55 | 26 | 29 | 62 | 56.6 % |
| 2005–06 | 3rd | 30 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 39 | 26 | 13 | 50 | 40 % |
| 2006–07 | 9th | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 42 | 32 | 10 | 42 | 36.7 % |
| 2007–08 | 6th | 30 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 32 | 20 | 12 | 43 | 33.3 % |
| 2008–09 | 3rd | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 37 | 32 | 5 | 50 | 50 % |
| 2009–10 | 3rd | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 39 | 25 | 14 | 51 | 46.7 % |
| 2010–11 | 3rd | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 45 | 23 | 22 | 59 | 56.7 % |
| 2011–12 | 5th | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 50 | 46.7 % |
| 2012–13 | Winners³ | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 48 | 21 | 27 | 57 | 50 % |
| 2013–14 | 2nd | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 43 | 17 | 26 | 63 | 63.3 % |
| 2014–15 | Winners⁴ | 30 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 41 | 14 | 27 | 69 | 70 % |
| 2015–16 | 5th | 30 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 39 | 28 | 11 | 50 | 36.6 % |
| 2016–17 | 4th | 30 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 39 | 28 | 11 | 50 | 43.3 % |
| 2017–18 | 3rd | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 48 | 40 % |
| 2018–19 | 9th | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 33 | 29 | 4 | 39 | 30 % |
| 2019–20 | 2nd | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 48 | 27 | 21 | 57 | 56.6 % |
| 2020-21 | 8th | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 34 | 37 | -3 | 36 | 26.6 % |
| 2021-22 | 5th | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 34 | 26 | 8 | 47 | 43.3 % |
| 2022-23 | 5th | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 33 | -1 | 44 | 43.3 % |
| 2023-24 | 10th | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 30 | -5 | 36 | 30% |
| 2024-25 | 9th | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 27 | 32 | -5 | 32 | 29% |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Executive Chairman | Kaizer Motaung |
| Marketing and Commercial Director | Jessica Motaung |
| Football Manager | Bobby Motaung |
| Corporate Communications Manager | Vina Maphosa |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For all Kaizer Chiefs players with a Wikipedia article seeCategory:Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players
Thomas Johnson (1971)Thomas Johnson andKaizer Motaung (1972)Kaizer Motaung (1973–74)Eliakim Khumalo (1974)
Eddie Lewis (1974–76)Eliakim Khumalo (1976)Thomas Johnson (1976)Eliakim Khumalo (1976)Eddie Lewis (1976)Kaizer Motaung (1977–78)
Mario Tuani (1979–80)Eddie Lewis (1980)Chris Ngcobo (1981)Eliakim Khumalo (1981)Joseph Setlhodi (1982)Eddie Lewis (1983)Eliakim Khumalo andJackie Masike (1983)
Orlando Casares (1983)
Joe Frickleton (1984–85)Shaka Ngcobo (1985)Eddie Lewis (1985)
Ted Dumitru (1985–88)
Jack Chamangwana (1988)Jeff Butler (1988–89)Jack Chamangwana (1989)
Augusto Palacios (1990)Jeff Butler (1991)Nelson"Teenage" Dladla (1991)Wiseman Mbale (1992)Jeff Butler (1992)
Sergio dos Santos (1993)N."Teenage" Dladla andRyder Mofokeng (1993)Geoff Hudson (1993)
Philippe Troussier (1994)Trott Moloto (1994)Augusto Palacios (1995)Jeff Butler (1995–96)
Walter da Silva (1996)Wellington Manyathi (1997)Paul Dolezar (1 July 1997 – 30 June 1999)Jacob Sephoa (1999)
Muhsin Ertugral (14 July 1999–02)Doctor"16V" Khumalo andAce Khuse (2002–03)Ted Dumitru (12 June 2003 – 30 June 2005)
Ernst Middendorp (1 July 2005 – 5 March 2007)
Kosta Papić (7 March 2007 – 4 June 2007)Muhsin Ertugral (1 July 2007 – 8 May 2009)Vladimir Vermezović (18 May 2009 – 12 April 2012)[25]Ace Khuse(interim) (12 April 2012 – 30 June 2012)Stuart Baxter (1 July 2012 – June 2015)Steve Komphela (17 June 2015 – 21 April 2018)
Giovanni Solinas (12 July 2018 -7 December 2018)Ernst Middendorp (7 December 2018 – 9 September 2020)Gavin Hunt (17 September 2020 – 28 May 2021)Stuart Baxter (7 June 2021 – 21 April 2022)Arthur Zwane (26 May 2022 – 28 June 2023)Molefi Ntseki (28 June 2023 – October 2023)[26]Cavin Johnson (October 2023 – June 2024)[27]
Nasreddine Nabi (7 July 2024– 10 October 2025)[28]Kaiser Chiefs, the Britishindie rock/britpop band, was named after the club becauseLucas Radebe, a former player of Kaizer Chiefs, captainedLeeds United, the team that the band members all supported.[29]
In 2012, Kaizer Chiefs registered arugby sevens team to participate in the inaugural7s Premier League.[30]
CAF Cup Winners' Cup winners | |
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| 1980s | |
| 1990s | |
| 2000s | |
| International | |
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| Other | |
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