Tuesday marked two years since Kaizer Motaung Jr took over as Sporting Director of Kaizer Chiefs. In that time, Motaung Jr has made a number of changes, both on and off the field, to ensure the club is successful. Here, we take a look at how Motaung Jr has performed in his role.
At the start of the season, Motaung Jr appointed Arthur Zwane as the club’s head coach, assisted by Dillon Sheppard, Molefi Ntseki and Aubrey Mathibe. While results have not been as expected, the club’s management have highlighted the transformation taking place under Zwane.
In addition to the appointment of Zwane and his technical team, Motaung Jr opened up the Chiefs chequebook and roped in a number of big-name signings to provide the new coach with the necessary tools needed to succeed. He also tied down a number of youngsters, including Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Sabelo Radebe, Bruce Bvuma, Reeve Frosler, Happy Mashiane, Thabo Mokoena and Keletso Sifama.
Motaung Jr has also overseen an improvement in the club’s youth development, with the Chiefs Reserves crowned Champions of the 2022 DStv Diski Shield, the Gauteng leg of the U18 Knockout Challenge, 2022 Engen Champ of Champs and the Under-17s lifting the 2022 GDL Youth Championship.
The club’s fitness levels were also identified as an area of concern by Motaung Jr. To address this, he roped in former University of Pretoria conditioning coach and sports science guru Muzi Maluleke to work on the team’s fitness. Finally, Motaung Jr has also been vocal about players linked to the club and has been visibly present on social media, in an effort to build a better rapport with the club’s fan base.
Overall, it has been a mixed two years for Motaung Jr in his role as Sporting Director. While the club’s youth development has flourished, the team’s performance on the field has been underwhelming. With Chiefs currently sitting in sixth position on the DStv Premiership standings, Motaung Jr will be hoping for an improvement in the second half of the season.
