Kaizer Chiefs welcome back winger Manqoba Ozoemena after loan spell

Kaizer Chiefs have welcomed back 22-year-old winger Manqoba Ozoemena after he completed a short-term loan with Motsepe Foundation Championship club Casric Stars.

Ozoemena spent the second half of last season with the Mpumalanga-based side, who have since rebranded as Real Natives, as part of a deliberate move to increase his competitive playing time and provide him with valuable senior football experience.

The attacking player missed the beginning of Kaizer Chiefs’ pre-season programme but has now returned to the club and is training with their DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) team.

Chiefs continue to use loan system

Ozoemena is one of several young Kaizer Chiefs players to have been moved away from the club in an effort to accelerate their development through regular senior football.

The Soweto club have made use of the loan market to give promising academy products the opportunity to gain experience and play more consistently than may have been possible within their own development structures.

Goalkeeper Bontle Molefe and forward Naledi Hlongwane are among the other Chiefs prospects who have been sent out on loan to pursue regular first-team football.

The club’s approach is intended to prioritise senior match minutes for its academy graduates and help them progress through the development pathway.

Highly rated left-back Kabelo Nkgwesa is part of the group involved in senior training, alongside fellow prospect Naphtali Mokoena, a goalkeeper.