The life of ‘luxuries’ is OVER for the Kaizer Chiefs players, it appears that they have been strengthened by the new coaching team regarding what they should put in their bellies in the 2026/2027 season.
The Chiefs recently announced a new coach, Fernando Da Cruz from France, who will replace Khalil Ben Youssef from Tunisia and Cedric Kaze from Burundi who led the team to third place in the Betway Premiership log in the 2025/2026 season. Da Cruz, who came to Naturena two years ago to pray for Nasreddine Nabi, will arrive in the country next month. However, the work continues under the watchful eye of his deputy Mahmoud Abbas from Egypt and Dillon Sheppard. The quality of the players will be on the shoulders of Julien Le Heran from France.
It turns out that the new coaches have brought major changes to Naturena, including the food given to the players, training methods and more.
“It’s intense in the gym, it’s being worked on. The new coaches changed a lot of things. First of all, they complained about the food to eat, they brought a new range. They made it clear that football players should not eat in any way,” said a source in Naturena.
The new coaching staff has the responsibility to achieve more than what Ben Youssef and Kaze have been led to believe. Amakhosi will fight for all the trophies in the Betway Premiership, which they will also hold in the Caf Confederation Cup. Da Cruz is also the one who must clarify the Chiefs players whose contracts expire at the end of June. Among these players are Sibongiseni “Ox” Mthethwa, Pule Mmodi, Gaston Sirino and others.
According to the source, many players will be axed at Naturena as the new coaches can’t handle working with more than 30. Currently, the Chiefs have about 40 players on their books. Among these players are those on loan, including Samkelo Zwane and Happy Mashiane. It is possible that the ax has been fed to the players who have contracts, which means that the Chiefs will get old and have to pay them.
“The coach wants a small squad, he doesn’t want to have many players. He has made it clear that he wants at least 30 players but he would be very happy to have 28. He wants all the players to have the opportunity to work for the team. He believes that a strong player who plays regularly does not get injured easily. In addition, he wants players who play in many different positions on the field. The defender must be able to play in the middle and on the sides,” said the source.