As Kaizer Chiefs turned 56 years old on yesterday, the discerning Amakhosi fan would have been tempted to say the “Glamour Boys” of South African football are truly approaching the proverbial retirement age.
After all, the team that once dominated the local game is seemingly off the boil — the one-time cup kings are playing second fiddle to arch-enemies Orlando Pirates while watching Mamelodi Sundowns rule the roost in the championship.
But out at Taung Village in Naturena, the club’s headquarters, the outlook was highly positive as they cut the cake and celebrated yet another birthday for a club that has been painstakingly built to become arguably one of the biggest brands — not just in football but overall — in South Africa.
Football manager Bobby Motaung — who, ironically, also turns 56 later in the year — told Independent Media that they are seeing light at the end of what has been a decade-long dark tunnel and are expecting the glory days to return. So much so, that Chiefs are not looking to make big changes going into the second half of the season as the transfer window approaches.
“Of course, we can never say no should a special player come along. When that happens, we will obviously have a look,” said Motaung.
56 YEARS OF AMAKHOSI!
From 1970 to 2026 – the legacy continues.
Thank you to every player, every supporter, every member of the Amakhosi family who made this journey unforgettable.Here’s to many more years of glory! #Amakhosi4Life #KaizerChiefs56 #LoveAndPeace pic.twitter.com/CWC559jFEm
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) January 7, 2026
“But we are happy with the depth of our squad because we had struggled with injuries and those players are now coming back. Also, we made a good number of signings at the start of the season and some of those players are yet to play.
“You must realise that joining Chiefs is not an easy thing and some players will take a long time to settle, so they just need to adapt and gel into the squad and we will be good. So, we don’t want to fiddle with the squad.”
He says they hold the same view for the technical team, which lost its leader in head coach Nasreddine Nabi earlier in the campaign. Many pundits have expressed dissatisfaction with co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Ben Youssef Khali, but Motaung says they are standing by their men.
“We don’t want to destabilise the team by bringing in a new coach who will want to do things differently from what we are currently doing. You know how coaches want to do things their way; others want their own technical team. These two guys have been with us from the beginning and we are building on that. We want continuity and I am sure you’ve seen the progress we are making.”
56 years of Amakhosi. 56 years of glory.
Happy Birthday to the greatest club in South Africa! 🎉#Amakhosi4Life #KaizerChiefs56 #HappyBirthdayChiefs pic.twitter.com/WfFIpOYJuS
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) January 7, 2026
Motaung says the goal for Chiefs always remains to be the best in the land and on the continent, the fact they’d not been that for a long time now notwithstanding.
“Even in the last ten years when we’ve not been winning trophies, we have been competitive. We got to the CAF Champions League under difficult Covid conditions and we were there and thereabouts in local competitions,” he added.
“The mission all these years has been to remain the Chiefs that we are known to be: a team that wins. Even for this season, we remain confident we will challenge. We want to retain our Nedbank Cup trophy and win the CAF Confederation Cup. And we believe the league title is still there for the taking.”
Chiefs will start the second half of the campaign by hosting Golden Arrows at the FNB Stadium as they seek to close in on league leaders Pirates, whom they trail by four points after 12 matches.
Thank you Skipper! ❤️✌🏼
We thank you, Neil Tovey, for being part of a generation that brought success to the Club and helped shape Kaizer Chiefs into an iconic brand!
Best wishes to you too!#KC56 #Amakhosi4Life#HappyBirthdayChiefs #KC56 #Chiefs56 #Amakhosi4Life pic.twitter.com/ZBPj1FfP9s
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) January 7, 2026
They will follow that up with back-to-back continental clashes against Zesco United in their effort to catch up to Egyptian sides Al Masry and Zamalek as they seek to qualify for the knockout phase of Africa’s secondary knockout competition.
Yesterday’s 56th birthday celebrations set the tone for what is to come — a reminder to all at Chiefs of the club’s legacy as a trophy-winning outfit.
“It’s been a good day,” Motaung said. “We celebrated the birthday as usual by cutting the cake with staff, players and former directors.
“We also had a prayer session to ask for blessings going forward. It was a special day and the Chairman [his father Kaizer Motaung] was there with us to remind us that the honour for what this club has become has to go to the founding forefathers.”
