Kaizer Chiefs interim coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef bow out

Kaizer Chiefs are set to part ways with interim coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef at the end of the current football campaign.

The duo will lead the Soweto giants in their final South African Premiership game against Chippa United at the Moses Mabhida Stadium this weekend.

Despite guiding Amakhosi to a strong and much-improved campaign, the coaching duo will not continue at the club beyond the current season, with the Kaizer Chiefs hierarchy reportedly unconvinced about converting their interim arrangement into a permanent technical structure.

Kaze and Khalil’s tenure has been viewed as a stabilising period for the Soweto giants, with the team securing a third-place finish in the Betway Premiership, a significant improvement compared to recent seasons.

Kaizer Chiefs have struggled in the past three campaigns to consistently compete at the top end of the table, often finishing outside the top eight and failing to mount a serious challenge for continental qualification. Against that backdrop, this season’s resurgence has been widely regarded as a step forward.

However, despite the positive turnaround, the club has opted not to retain the duo on a full-time basis, signaling a new direction ahead of the next campaign.

Under the guidance of Kaze and Khalil, Kaizer Chiefs showed greater tactical discipline, improved defensive organisation, and a more structured approach in key matches. The team’s consistency allowed them to secure a top-three finish well before the final matchday, a rarity in recent years.

Even so, internal expectations at the club appear to extend beyond league position alone, with the hierarchy believed to be assessing long-term identity, style of play, and continental competitiveness.

Saturday’s clash against Chippa United will serve as a farewell fixture for the coaching pair, although the outcome will have little impact on the standings.

With the top-three position already secured, the match is largely a formality in terms of league positioning. However, it will carry emotional significance as Kaze and Khalil take charge of Kaizer Chiefs for the final time.

The Moses Mabhida Stadium encounter will also serve as a symbolic end to a short but notable chapter in Chiefs’ recent history.

Throughout the season, the coaching duo earned praise for restoring discipline and cohesion within the squad. Several players benefited from clearer tactical roles and improved game management, contributing to the team’s return to competitiveness.

While not every performance was flawless, the general trajectory of improvement has been acknowledged as one of the key positives of the campaign.

With the co-coaching experiment now coming to an end, attention shifts to the club’s next technical direction. Chiefs are expected to appoint a new long-term structure aimed at sustaining competitiveness and challenging for silverware more consistently.

The decision to move on from Kaze and Khalil suggests that the club is prioritising a more defined and singular leadership model going forward.

Although their stay will be brief, Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef will leave Amakhosi having achieved something that had eluded the club in recent seasons—restoring them to the upper tier of the PSL table and re-establishing a sense of competitiveness.

As the final whistle approaches this weekend, their departure will mark the end of a transitional chapter, but also the beginning of yet another reset in Kaizer Chiefs’ ongoing search for sustained success.