Kaizer Chiefs sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jr. has confirmed that new coach Nasreddine Nabi will join the team during their pre-season tour in Turkey.

Nabi’s arrival was delayed due to unfinished business with his previous club, FAR Rabat, who recently lost the Moroccan Throne Cup final. However, he sent his technical team member Fernando da Cruz to oversee training sessions in his absence.

Amakhosi, coming off their worst season ever, will depart South Africa this week for the upcoming 2024-25 Premier Soccer League season. Their pre-season tour in Turkey kicks off on Thursday.

Players and staff will spend nearly three weeks in the Eurasian nation, training and playing friendly matches against top Turkish opposition. This marks the Glamour Boys’ first international pre-season tour in 21 years.

Their previous overseas pre-season, in 2003, was held in South Korea. The team spent a month in camp, participating in the Peace Cup against notable clubs like Olympique Lyonnais (France), Besiktas (Turkey), and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (South Korea). Notably, they also gained valuable experience training at facilities used in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

“The most crucial aspect of a pre-season camp is to make sure that the team is building team unity and overall mental readiness for the season ahead. These are vital as every top team needs to work together to build its internal strength in order to be prepared for the challenges ahead,” says Sporting Director, Kaizer Motaung Jr. “More specifically for us, with a new incoming coaching structure, it helps for the new coaching team to have the squad away from their normal environment in order to assess what work must be done and how they need to work going forward together.

“We are looking forward to a very productive preparation process, and we hope the team will be able to focus on the job at hand as we gear towards starting the season very strongly,” he adds

The Chiefs have a rich history with Turkey, having sold several players to Turkish clubs over the years. Notable names include John “Shoes” Moshoeu, Fani Madida, Donald “Ace” Khuse, Steve Komphela, Pollen “Trompies” Ndlanya, and more recently, Siphiwe “Shabba” Tshabalala.

“We are thankful that we are able to realise our dream of preparing the team overseas. This gives us an opportunity to promote the Kaizer Chiefs brand outside of the borders of South Africa. We are looking forward to a successful tour and hope it will lead us to winning, as we did when we came back from Korea in 2003,” says Marketing and Commercial Director, Jessica Motaung.

The team will be based in Izmit and Istanbul during their Turkish tour before returning to South Africa for the new DStv Premiership season.