Zitha Kwinika will return to his boyhood club Kaizer Chiefs next season after an impressive campaign with Stellenbosch FC.
Kwinika has previously told FARPost that former Amakhosi midfield maestro Reneilwe Letsholonyane had a massive impact on his career. The man popularly known as ‘Yeye’ was at the Soweto giants when Kwinika was promoted to the senior team from the club’s academy in 2016.
The 28-year-old Kwinika went on to have stints with Richards Bay, Chippa United, and Bidvest Wits before settling at Stellenbosch in the last two seasons. At Stellies, he made 27 appearances in the DStv Premiership as he helped Steve Barker’s side achieve their highest ever finish in the league.
Letsolonyane believes having been groomed by Chiefs, Kwinika knows what to expect when he dons the gold and black next season.
“I think he knows already what to expect, he had the experience of the club first-hand, and he knows exactly the demands that come with that team, and it’s a good thing that he left and got experience from the teams that he played for, and years later he comes back.
“I’m sure he will deal with the challenges better now. He’s grown and matured now, so my advice to him would be not to stop doing the things that brought him back to Chiefs because he has done well for [Bidvest] Wits and Stellenbosch, so he has grown as a player and as a person,” the former Bafana Bafana midfielder said.
The Stellenbosch Player of the Season will be coached by Arthur Zwane, who was recently appointed as head coach of the Glamour Boys on a three-year deal, and Letsholonyane suggests having many young coaches in the top flight of South African football is the route many teams should have taken a long time ago.
“It’s a good opportunity for him [Arthur Zwane]. I think it’s long overdue, and it’s the shift that our football should have taken a few years back. To say that younger coaches are now stepping up and taking over, and they relate with the current crop of players,” added the former Jomo Cosmos star.
