Former Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Farouk Khan has made an observation about Amakhosi losing key players from their DStv Diski Challenge [DDC] side to other PSL clubs.
In recent seasons, Chiefs have been losing their young talent to Betway Premiership clubs. The DDC stars have left the Soweto giants in search of regular game-time in the top-flight.
Chiefs lost players such as Puso Dithejane and Khulimane Ndamane to TS Galaxy in the past two seasons, while Omega Mdaka joined Stellenbosch FC.
Dithejane and Ndamane went on to become an integral part of the Galaxy squad, featuring regularly in the senior team. Since signing with the Rockets in the 2023/24 campaign, Dithejane featured in 48 appearances, scoring three goals and providing seven assists.
His attacking qualities earned him a place in the Bafana Bafana squad that participated in the 2025 COSAFA Cup, which recently concluded with South Africa losing to Angola in the final.
Meanwhile, Ndamane formed part of the Hugo Broos’ Bafana squad that played two international friendlies against Tanzania and Mozambique a few weeks ago.
The talented centre-back made 27 appearances across all competitions after signing with Galaxy from Chiefs at the start of the 2024/25 season.
After the conclusion of last season, Chiefs announced the departure of their DDC captain, Ntandoyenkosi Nkosi, and Siphesihle Tati, who are also set to join TS Galaxy.
WHAT FAROUK KHAN SAID ABOUT CHIEFS LOSING DDC STARS
Having served in Chiefs’ development structures and as an assistant coach, Farouk Khan asserts that the Glamour Boys critically need to find a more effective method for integrating their Diski Challenge players into the senior squad.
“I’ve always said that Chiefs is an institution that attracts the best talent in the juniors, no disrespect to other big clubs like Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns,” Khan told FARPost.
“If you look at Rele [Mofokeng], he’s not a product of Pirates academy, he was prepared by the School of Excellence to take the pressure of playing for a big team.
“So the question is, does Chiefs prepare the players enough to compete in the first team. You look at Mfundo Vilakazi, he’s a top talent, but not a regular in the team. So there has to be a way of getting the players into the senior team.
“Look at players at TS Galaxy who were let go because they didn’t want to be ball boys. I think Chiefs must find a way to properly transition players from DDC to the first team. No one would just want to leave an institute like Chiefs, so they must have a look into that.”
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