Bhongolethu Jayiya: Former Kaizer Chiefs winger explains move into coaching at UJ

Former Bidvest Wits and Kaizer Chiefs winger Bhongolethu Jayiya has described how a period of self-improvement after his playing career led him to coaching the under-19s at University of Johannesburg.

Jayiya stopped playing after leaving Amakhosi in 2019. He spent the following years considering his future before discovering a desire to help develop the next generation of South African players.

He began coaching in 2023 after initially working with friends at the Nike Centre in Soweto. His involvement grew through township tournaments, where he coached several teams and began to see the impact he could have on young players.

“After Chiefs, I just sat down. I looked at my career and I focused on self-improvement. I did a few online courses to keep my mind going,” Jayiya said.

“I only started coaching three years ago. From 2020 to 2023, it was just self-improvement, trying to figure out what’s next. In those three years, something hit me. Why not start at grassroots and help them out as much as possible?

“In 2023, I started training at Nike Centre in Soweto. I was training with my friends and then something came up where they said, ‘Why don’t you coach because you have the experience?’

“But I thought coaching was not for me. Then I went to intokasi (township) tournaments, coaching a few teams there. Then I was like, ‘There is something here.’

“What changed the most was when I helped one of these kids from my hometown to get into one of the first teams in the townships, so I thought it’s possible.”

Jayiya’s route into coaching was also shaped by one of his childhood coaches, Pat, who encouraged him to join the University of Johannesburg.

“Even one of my childhood coaches, coach Pat, said, ‘Your brain is very interesting, why don’t you come help me out at UJ’. So, I arrived at UJ in 2023, just to help him out,” he said.

“He was like, ‘Since I am the head coach, I am going to give you all the sessions’. I started from there. Once I started, I saw the passion is now with me helping these kids. So, I kept on going till now.”

Jayiya has since obtained his CAF D License and plans to work towards his C license. His long-term ambition is to establish an academy, although he says he is still researching and learning before taking that step.

“I got my (CAF) D License. I am planning to get my C license. My biggest dream is to have an academy, where I can start these kids from a small,” he said.

“It’s not something I want to do right now. I am still doing research. I am still trying to get my teeth in the game and to see how far I can go and learning from people.”