
Soccer
Exclusive: Siyabonga Nomvethe Praises Kaizer Chiefs’ Progress but Calls for Players to Step Up
Former Kaizer Chiefs striker Siyabonga Nomvethe praises his old club's improvements this season, despite some setbacks. He believes their participation in the Confederation Cup will sharpen them for domestic competitions. He also reflects on his long-standing goal record being broken by Namibian Peter Shalulile.

Soccer - UEFA Cup - Group G - Tottenham Hotspur v AaB Aalborg - White Hart Lane by Adam Davy - EMPICS | Getty Images
Former Kaizer Chiefs striker Siyabonga Nomvethe has been impressed with how his former side have started their 2025/26 campaign.
Amakhosi have endured two tough years marked by inconsistency, failing to secure a top-eight finish in back-to-back seasons. However, their start to the current campaign showed noticeable improvement, going unbeaten in their first five league matches with four wins and one draw.
That early form was largely a result of the club’s investment in strengthening their squad during the off-season, bolstering key positions as they prepared for a return to continental football.
The early setbacks
The Glamour Boys’ first setback came in a 3-1 defeat to Sekhukhune United, and since then, the momentum from their early form has faded slightly, with a string of inconsistent results, including a Carling Knockout round-of-16 exit, weighing heavily on the side.
Adding to their challenges is the uncertainty surrounding head coach Nasreddine Nabi, who has not been part of the technical team since their CAF Confederation Cup opener against Angolan outfit Kabuscorp two weeks ago.
Despite these issues, Nomvethe remains confident that Chiefs are on course to enjoy a far better season than the last two years.
“Their season has been good so far, it is just the minor issues with the technical staff, but overall the club has been performing well,” Nomvethe told SportsBoom.co.za.
“It’s a matter of them taking it a game at a time. They have done a lot of things right so far this season, but the players also have to look at themselves and have a chat as they are the ones that do the running on the pitch.”
“They need to have that chat and agree amongst themselves that they need to take the club back to where it belongs because this is a big club, and you notice with every game that they play, the supporters are always there whether they win or lose.”
“More opportunities will come for them to collect more points. Their Carling Knockout loss was always going to go either way with the game getting to penalties.”
The benefits of competing at the Confederations Cup
Amakhosi have, however, successfully navigated their first Confed Cup hurdle, progressing to the second preliminary round after a 1-1 aggregate draw and a 5-4 win on penalties against Kabuscorp.
Having missed out on the MTN8 due to their ninth-place finish last season, the 47-year-old told Sportsboom.co.za that he believes their Confed Cup campaign will sharpen them for domestic competitions.
Chiefs last competed in continental football in 2021, when they reached the CAF Champions League final before losing 3-0 to Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
“Their participation in the Confederation Cup is important for them because unlike before, they don’t spend some weekends without any matches, and that helps a great deal, especially with their rhythm,” said Nomvethe.
“The exposure to more serious games on the continent will make them more competitive when they return to league football."
“The likes of Mamelodi Sundowns have been performing consistently well because they play week in and week out, exposed to the best teams in Africa. I believe there will be a lot of improvement from last season.”
The end of the long standing record
The former Chiefs striker also reflected on seeing his long-standing record of 129 goals broken recently by Namibian international Peter Shalulile.
While he was pleased for Shalulile, the former Udinese striker admitted he would have preferred a South African to have taken the honour and gave some insight on what used to work for him.
“Peter has done well to get to the record,” he said.
“I have no complaints that it has been broken because it was there for a long time without anyone coming close. The feeling would have been sweeter if it was a South African that broke it.”
“This is the right time for South African strikers to also pull up their socks and chase after Peter so that the record is retained by a South African striker.”
“The defenders have been putting in the hard yards. It’s not always easy to get the goals, and as a striker you have to work extra hard.”
“I used to ensure that even though I attended training in the morning with my club, later in the afternoon I did my own training, and that helped me keep my fitness levels very high," he concluded.

Obakeng - A passionate sports fan at heart that had a dream to be a professional soccer player or cricketer. He was introduced into the world of MotoGP and Formula One by Brad Binder's dominant moto3 championship win and he has not looked back. He is able to live through his passion for sport through writing, and he is a sport writer for the Independent Newspapers in South Africa.