Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef has addressed what the future holds for him, together with Cedric Kaze, at Naturena after guiding Amakhosi to a CAF Confederation Cup spot for next season.
As a result of the coaching duo’s efforts, Chiefs are now guaranteed to finish the season in third position in the Betway Premiership table, even if they lose their remaining two games against AmaZulu FC and Chippa United.
While the Soweto giants cannot catch up with log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, who are second, they have an unassailable seven-point lead over fourth-placed Usuthu. Attaining position three appears a huge feat for a team that, in March, looked likely to end the season out of the top eight for the third season in a row.
It was a period Ben Youssef and Kaze were under fire from Chiefs fans amid a four-game losing run. That streak included a defeat in the CAF Confederation Cup and three league losses.
That sparked a revolt from a group of fans who marched to the Kaizer Chiefs Village at Naturena, demanding the immediate sacking of the tacticians. But authorities at Naturena maintained faith in Ben Youssef and Kaze to carry on.
CHIEFS’ MANDATE FOR BEN YOUSSEF AND KAZE
The duo was thrust into the Amakhosi hot seat following the departure of their former boss Nasreddine Nabi in September 2025. That left them facing the better part of the season to navigate through.
Having worked under Nabi last season, expectations were high on the two coaches. They were given the task to lead Chiefs until the end of the season.
Speaking on Marawa Sports Worldwide in March, Chiefs sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr said Ben Youssef and Kaze were mandated to achieve a CAF Champions League spot. That meant a top-two finish, and it appeared to be an over-ambitious target for a team that was then reeling from a morale-sapping four-game losing streak.
But the coaches stepped up to the task by going for seven successive games unbeaten, and that spell included five consecutive wins. That inspired the position they are currently in.
CHIEFS IN A DILEMMA OVER BEN YOUSSEF AND KAZE?
Now that the Soweto giants are assured to conclude this season at number three, the co-coaches seem to have punched above their weight. Although they have not secured a Champions League berth, Chiefs will still play continental football next term.
The third-place finish is Amakhosi’s best since the 2019/20 season when they were runners-up to Sundowns. That has convinced former coach Muhsin Ertugral that the current coaches should be retained for continuity’s sake.
“Continuity is not about just protecting the coaches. It is about protecting the direction,” Ertugral told FARPost in a recent interview. “If there is a clear idea, if there is visible progress, even at present, somehow the results are inconsistent, for me, the worst decision is to start again. Keeping the coaches for me is important. For me, they need to keep the coaches.
Many changes have damaged the success rate at the club, in my opinion, because each change had its own direction,” added Ertugral. “So every new coach started again from zero. I think all the resets have broken whatever structure was beginning to form. Those changes delayed one thing that Chiefs really need: identity.”
BEN YOUSSEF RESPONDS TO THE BIG QUESTION ABOUT CHIEFS’ FUTURE
The Tunisian has been diplomatic about what lies ahead for him and Kaze at the Soweto giants.
“We are here to work. This is not a question for me to answer – for discussion. You can ask the club management, not me,” Ben Youssef told the media over the weekend after Chiefs beat Sekhukhune United 2-0 in Polokwane in a league tie.
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