Matshelane Mamabolo
KAIZER MOTAUNG turns 80 years old today and, while South African football is under the impression the Kaizer Chiefs boss has taken a backseat at the club, his children say nothing could be further from the truth.
Seen by their fans as somewhat of a liability to the club and with many fearful they are likely to sink the club in their father’s absence, the Motaung children believe they are picking up very valuable lessons from Chincha Guluva which will see them ensuring Chiefs continue to be the massive institution it is.
“He is still very, very active in the business and sometimes he has taken on a lot more when he should have taken the backseat with certain things,” says Jessica Motaung, the club’s marketing director.
“But in certain instances, I think he has allowed things to move ahead and progress; he has allowed people to really run with certain things. Sometimes we sit and make decisions and then he comes with this wisdom. Stuff we hadn’t thought about and I think it is so wonderful to have him in the business and the wisdom he has been able to provide.”
Her younger brother Kaizer Jr, who is Chiefs’ sporting director, concurs: “The chairman is still in the office with us. In the morning he is here and most of the time he’s the last one to leave.
“He is extremely important to us and he is guiding us at every step, not just the members of the family. He is still the yardstick for all the departments across the organisation.”
Jessica says the fear or suggestion that they (the children) will kill the club is unfair: “It’s disappointing that people would think that if he is not here, things would not move in the right direction.
“It speaks to the fact that they have not got trust in what he has been able to put together and the team he has put together to take the club to the next level.”
Junior adds: “Ntate (Mr) Motaung is that kind of person whose wisdom is such that the house could be burning; there could be a fire right now and he would be like, ‘Ja, I know there’s fire but relax’. We are in good hands.”
He does understand the fans’ frustration with the club’s lack of success in what now must feel like an eternity, given that Chiefs have been generally successful in the distant past.
“Of course, with the situation that the club has not won trophies and has not performed to expectations. The nine-year period when we have not lifted silverware, it is unlike the team of ours and I think the reason our supporters feel the way they do is that they are used to success.
“It’s really a period for us to reflect and say, ‘let’s be honest with the things we have not done right’ and that’s what we are doing right now. The chairman is very good at being realistic but in a positive optimistic way.
“With our plans to change that, rest assured the chairman is at the forefront of the decision-making, sitting down and brainstorming and I think – in the direction we are going now – there is some light.”
Junior says the best birthday gift they can give their father is to win the Carling Knockout Cup and, of course, win both the Soweto Derby matches.
“To say happy 80th is for him to look on the pitch and see the team playing good football, see us hammering (Orlando) Pirates for sure – yeah, we’ve got other opponents but we’ve got to hammer Pirates.
“And with the Carling coming this year, he’s just turned 80, and then we are on the podium and he is there lifting that trophy … Us celebrating trophies and playing the football that Chincha Guluva knows, there’s no better present than that.”
Catch the full interviews with the Motaung children on https://www.omniaudio.africa/ from 8am to 9am today. Or you can say catch Matshelane on his podcast 'Inside SA Soccer with Bra Jakes' on https://www.omniaudio.africa/ for the full interviews with the Motaung children and others as he celebrates Kaizer Motaung's 80the birthday