SoccerClub looks at all the important numbers behind Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs.
4 – Owner Kaizer Motaung has four of his children deeply involved in the club. Kaizer Motaung Jnr is the sporting director, son Bobby is the football manager, and daughter (marketing and commercial director) and Kemiso (head of digital) work in the office. it is truly a family business.
1 – Chiefs have one continental title to their name – they lifted the now defuct African Cup Winners Cup in 2001, beating InterClube from Angola 2-1 on aggregate in the final.
9 – Chiefs’ record winning margin is a 9-1 mauling of Manning Rangers in the Coca-Cola Challenge in 1996. The irony of that is that Rangers went on to be league champions in 1996-97!
52 – Neil Tovey holds the record for the most games played in a single season for Chiefs, which he managed in the 19992 campaign.
78 – Chiefs owner Kaizer Motaung is 78 years old, but he remains keenly involved in the club as chairman. He also still serves on the Premier Soccer League’s Board of Governors.
4 000 000 – Chiefs have an incredible 4 million followers on Facebook and 2.7 million on Twitter. They are easily the biggest brand in South African football, even if their performance on the pitch has not reflected that recently.
13 – Chiefs have won 13 league titles, which was a South African record until Mamelodi Sundowns overtook them on their current run of six wins in a row (and 16 in total). The Amakhosi’s last title win was in the 2014-15 season.
1970 – Chiefs were formed in 1970 following a breakaway from Orlando Pirates led by Kaizer Motaung, who had played in the USA for the Atlanta Chiefs and took on their name.
19 – Pule ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe has the most goals in Soweto Derbies against Orlando Pirates, a figure that is unlikely to ever be beaten. These days, if a player scores a glut of goals, they are quickly moved to Europe.
240 – Records are a bit sketchy, but in terms of goals that can be positively verified, Pule ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe is the club’s leading scorer of all time. It is likely he scored many more than this, though.
497 – Doctor Khumalo is credited with the most starts for Chiefs in official competition, though record-keeping through the 1970s and 80s means there needs to be an asterisk next to his statistic.
