Kaizer Chiefs will finally get the opportunity to test their strength when they open their off-season tour with a friendly match against Dutch first division side Vitesse tonight (Tuesday) at 7:00pm.
Chiefs arrived in the Netherlands on Friday and have been quietly going about their business in camp in Apeldoorn, where they are based for their off-season preparations. Tonight’s training match will be played at Sportpark Driel in Driel.
After having done preseason in Turkey in 2024, Chiefs opted to go to the Netherlands this year. After Vitesse, they will play against FC Utrecht, NEC Nijmegen, PEC Zwolle and FC Twente. Chiefs squad had a tough gym session on Saturday afternoon, followed by high-intensity outings in Apeldoorn.
Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jnr has been watching the proceedings like a hawk from close range. Motaung explained why they opted for the Netherlands: “It’s about cross-cultures and about having a pre-season at a higher level than we are used to, which also has to do with having really competitive training matches.”
“Training and playing games in Europe is also about getting players out of their comfort zone. It’s a different environment; it’s about a lot of travelling to the training matches, and it’s about preparing the mindset of the players for the upcoming season,” he added.
These kinds of matches will help Amakhosi to get ready for the CAF Confederation Cup, for which Amakhosi qualified thanks to winning the 2025 Nedbank Cup. The games for the Confederation Cup involve a lot of travelling as well, even more than presently experienced in Holland.
“We want the players to test themselves against these really strong sides. They will learn from it and will not only become better as individual players but, maybe even more important, improve as a team. That’s why we are so happy that the chairman [Kaizer Motaung] and the board supported us to go overseas for preseason again,” added Motaung Jnr.
The live stream will be on the club’s YouTube channel, @KaizerChiefsFootballClub. The streaming will start about 15 minutes before kickoff, which will be at 7:00pm.
