Motaung Excited About Baartman’s Capture

Kaizer Chiefs sporting director, Kaizer Motaung Jr., has revealed that the club had been tracking Luke Baartman for a long time before officially announcing his signing on Tuesday night.

Baartman was acquired by Chiefs as a free agent after winning his case at the PSL’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), which ruled that he should be released from his previous club, Spurs.

Spurs had argued they were entitled to a transfer fee of over R10 million for the player, despite the club being relegated to the ABC Motsepe Regional League, which is an amateur league.

According to PSL rules, when a club is relegated to amateur football, its players automatically become free agents. Spurs challenged this, insisting they were owed a transfer fee.

“He is an exciting young talent that we’ve been monitoring for the past few seasons, both at the club level, in the Bayhill Cup—where he was voted player of the tournament—and with the U-17 national team that played at AFCON,” Motaung Jr. said about Baartman. “We believe he will bring valuable versatility, playing both as a center-forward and a winger. We look forward to seeing him in action soon.”

Baartman is the second player Chiefs have signed from Spurs through this same process during the current transfer window, following Asanele Velebayi.

Velebayi also took his case to the PSL DRC, arguing that he was a free agent because Spurs had been relegated to an amateur league. Spurs had valued Velebayi at R10 million and demanded that Chiefs pay that amount.

Baartman was the second player signed by Chiefs on Tuesday, shortly after the announcement of Etiosa Ighodaro from Mamelodi Sundowns. Ighodaro had also requested to be released from the African Giants because he felt he had no future with the club.

Baartman is the ninth player to join Chiefs during this transfer window, alongside Nkanyiso Shinga, Etiosa Ighodaro, Asanele Velebayi, Ethan Chislett, Flavio Silva, Paseka Mako, Thabiso Monyane, and Siphesihle Ndlovu.