Dr Kaizer Motaung confident of healing Chiefs before he passes mantle

Kaizer Chiefs chair Kaizer Motaung insists the club learnt immense lessons in the 10 years that they had an unprecedented trophy drought before ending it last season with a win over Soweto arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final in Durban.

The Chiefs boss was talking to reporters moments after Wits University conferred an honorary Doctor of Commerce on him on Tuesday. This is the second such accolade for the 80-year-old Motaung in five years after University of Cape Town bestowed the title Doctor of Science Honoris Causa on him in July 2022. 

Motaung had time to answer questions about the turbulent times of his 55-year-old brand that reputedly commands over 14-million supporters across South Africa and more beyond. In one of the remarkable and unique overnight success stories in sport, Motaung formed Chiefs in 1970 as an offshoot from his former club Pirates, who “Chincha Guluva” joined when he was just 16.

Amakhosi are still one of the most decorated clubs in South Africa — they have a trophy-laden cabinet from their supremely successful first 45 years. Mamelodi Sundowns, bankrolled to new levels by billionaire Patrice Motsepe, have taken over the mantle, winning the Premiership for the last eighth seasons and forging global exploits. 

Motaung said Chiefs understand some of the reasons behind the club's struggles on the pitch in the past 10 years and through the backing of the club's supporters — who have stuck with the South Africa's glamour club through the battles — they gained the energy to bounce back by winning the Nedbank Cup last season. Now Amakhosi want to continue their trophy-winning trait again in the coming seasons.

Chiefs' venerable chair spoke passionately about the succession plans he's put in place at the club, with almost all his children occupying key positions that he believes will take the club into a better future and a return to the glory it had in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. 

The Motaung offspring — Jessica (marketing), Bobby (football manager), Kaizer Jr (sporting director) and Kemiso (digital) — have been handed greater leeway running the club as Kaizer Sr eyes the time he has to hand over fully. Many speculate their learning curves and teething problems have led to the travails of the club, but that the owner presses on because he wants his children to learn the hard way and be properly prepared.

“You're well aware that process [succession planning] to ensure that there is continuity has started,” Motaung said. “With success you have to maintain it and also grow as a brand and I'm sure the signs are there that we're growing as a brand, even when we haven't delivered on the pitch for the past 10 years.

“The fact that the people still came to support us was key, because they realise the importance of having Kaizer Chiefs doing what they're doing for the communities. They judge us by not only what we're doing on the field of play but off it [too]. What we contribute to the community. 

“So I think we've played our part there, but as far as the continuity is concerned the process is in place to ensure there's a proper succession plan. Obviously, expectations will be high.

“To expect that things can change overnight is not easy, but I think we're on right path in terms of redeeming ourselves and also trying to ensure that the brand grows by leaps and bounds. That is why we attach so much importance to the support that we get from our supporters.”

Motaung urged people to understand Chiefs can no longer win everything all the time, but do want to compete better in the coming seasons.

“Sport is a very good environment because you learn a lot of lessons. We also understand that if you look overseas, for instance, when last did Arsenal win the league in England? Nobody has thought about it, not even Arsenal. Let's talk about Tottenham, when last did they win a league? Not for decades, unlike us. With us it was just a matter of 10 years we hadn't won anything. We're in sports and you'll win and lose.

I can say the PSL is on the right track but obviously we cannot be a perfect organisation. We'll always have challenges like we see now with some of the things that happen after the season with teams getting relegated and some putting up legal challenges. But I think it takes us to be able to ensure that we work together and understanding what is in the interest of the country. Once we understand that we shall really make a very good step forward.

—  Kaizer Motaung

“But obviously it was uncharacteristic of us to lose for such a long time. I can only say that maybe those are your stages of sports. You go up and down and you can't win all the time. A football is round and there's no 'therefore' in football. These are some of the lessons we have learnt.

“We have learnt a number of lessons in not being successful in the past 10 years. Obviously, there are reasons we didn't do well, but we take away all those lessons that we got from that.”

Motaung will go down in South African football history not just as the founder of the country's most popular and still most successful football club, but also a co-founder, with Orlando Pirates owner and league chair Irvin Khoza, of the hugely successful Premier Soccer League in 1996, which has revolutionised the sport in the country. 

That success has been tarnished, especially in recent seasons post-Covid-19, by the demise of some huge clubs, including Bidvest Wits, Bloemfontein Celtic and in recent weeks SuperSport United. The costs and lack of financial sustainability of running a club, and types of investors who come in, who often are not businesspeople with long-term financial stability guaranteed, lead to the high turnover of sales of clubs, and sometimes even major brand ones. That destabilises South African football. Professionally run Wits and SuperSport had excellent structures, administration and academies and Celtic a renowned support base in the Free State.

“Wits was an asset to South African football because of the way they conducted themselves. They gave us that fight to go to greater heights. They had a good team and a very good structure. 

“The problem in our football might be the question of these changes of ownership. Maybe Wits would not have sold had they not had financial challenges. They probably had problems in terms of the revenue because I don't think government would give them money for football.

“These are lessons we need to learn and maybe we as the PSL also need to come up with a formula that makes it not easy for people who went to the Lotto and won R20m to then decide to go and buy a club. We probably need to bring stringent rules that make it difficult for people to come in because they've just acquired some money somewhere then they buy a status. Maybe that's a problem we need to address so we can stay stable.

“Football has to come up with something that will make the league strong and stable so we don't have these loopholes whereby any Tom, Dick and Harry, once he's got a jackpot somewhere, then buys a status and comes into the league. It should be difficult, not only on the field but also on the business side of things.”

The Chiefs' supremo called on club bosses to work with one another rather than the damaging trend of being embroiled in rivalries and petty politics. 

“Once we realise the importance of keeping ourselves close to one another and understanding the common issue, which is the interest of the game and how we develop it, and put more focus on those things instead of becoming entangled in soccer politics and position-mongering [we will have more success].

“I can say the PSL is on the right track, but obviously we cannot be a perfect organisation. We'll always have challenges like we see now with some of the things that happen after the season with teams getting relegated and some putting in legal challenges. But I think it takes us to ensure that we work together and understanding what is in the interest of the country. Once we understand that we shall really make a very good step forward.”