“Announcements Are Coming!” — Jessica Teases New Amakhosi Coach

Kaizer Chiefs Marketing and Commercial Director Jessica Motaung has called for patience from the Amakhosi faithful, assuring fans that a series of major technical team and squad announcements will drop over the coming weeks.

Motaung confirmed that a newly consolidated technical team will take charge from the dugout when the Glamour Boys lock horns with reigning Zimbabwean Premier Soccer League champions Scotland FC in the Toyota Cup at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on 26 July.

The announcement comes amid intense media speculation linking French-born tactician Fernando da Cruz with a dramatic return to Naturena.

The 53-year-old originally arrived ahead of the 2024/25 campaign as the first piece of Nasreddine Nabi’s technical puzzle. However, he abruptly vacated his assistant coach role before kicking a ball in an official match, answering a high-profile call from the Moroccan FA to collaborate with Fathi Jamal on the prestigious OCP Project.

Should Da Cruz finalize his return, he will step into a vacancy left by tactical assistants Cédric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef.

Chiefs management released the duo at the end of the 2025/26 season despite helping guide the Soweto giants to a respectable third-place finish.

Kaze had originally joined Nabi’s bench as a swift replacement when Da Cruz departed for North Africa two years ago.

“Certainly, this season has ended, and we are taking time to announce things like the Toyota Cup in preparation for the pre-season,” Motaung told reporters.

“Supporters and everybody alike can look forward to announcements in due course regarding the new technical team. From a Toyota Cup point of view, it is a showcase for the new technical team, new players, and general player movements… as well as our new kit. We will be wearing it on the pitch for the first time. In the next few days and weeks, there will be many announcements coming out of the Amakhosi home to say: these are the changes and this is where we are.”

While a third-place finish marked a massive step forward for the club after failing to finish in the top eight in the past two seasons, the mandate at Naturena remains uncompromisingly clear: re-establishing absolute domestic dominance.

“First and foremost, thank you to the technical staff for the wonderful job they did in securing us third place,” Motaung added.

“Certainly, as we move forward, the mandate and key announcements will be made in due course regarding the technical team and where we intend to go. Chiefs is a team that contends for everything on the table, and we will make sure we continue to build on those successes.”