Kaizer Chiefs held a ceremony at FNB Stadium on Friday to recognise and acclaim the tremendous feats of the Club’s 2024/25 DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) championship-winning team.

The Amakhosi reserves produced some outstanding performances over the campaign to deservedly emerge as the country’s top U23 side, finishing with a record tally of points, and a record winning margin of seven points, despite a reduced season due to the expulsion of Royal AM.

Individual award winners on the night were:

Most Improved player – Kabelo Nkgwesa

Player of the season – Kabelo Nkgwesa

Goalkeeper of the season – Takalani Mazhamba

Players’ player of the season – Pheko Phago

Top goal scorer – Naledi Hlongwane

A delighted and well-satisfied Kaizer Motaung Jr. told www.kaizerchiefs.com afterwards, “For the lads to bring home this DDC trophy is massively important, particularly the very impressive manner in which they did it, and worthy of celebration. It is especially pleasing for the Chairman (Dr. Kaizer Motaung) whose vision, commitment and unwavering support for the academy has been handsomely rewarded. Now, it’s a big challenge for them. The bar has been set and it is all about what happens next and I look forward to seeing how they take up that challenge and progress.”

The Club Sporting Director also acknowledged the excellent work of the technical staff in masterminding this memorable season, adding, “It is a great achievement for the institution of Kaizer Chiefs. The incredible dedication of the academy staff deserves a lot of praise. They put in long hours of work that people don’t see and I am very happy to see the fruits of their efforts rewarded with success.”

Victorious coach, Dillon Sheppard said, “It is a special evening to reward the boys for a great season of hard work, perseverance and resilience. From game one the players were determined to give their very best to get the results and to end up winning by a seven-point margin is an indication of how they applied themselves and I want to congratulate the players for that.”

Double-award winner, Kabelo Nkgwesa expressed his appreciation for the accolades bestowed upon him. “I am very happy. What a great day today. I am grateful for being given a platform to display my quality, and I can say there’s still more to come from me,” said the talented left-back.

“We knew it wouldn’t be an easy season for us. There was a time when we lost against Sundowns our coaching staff told us that would be our last defeat and we must win all our remaining games. I was a bit shocked when I heard that but in the back of my mind I thought, playing as a team, we could do it,” he said, drawing attention to one particularly crucial fixture late in the season, “And we showed it, especially away to (nearest challengers) Stellenbosch, playing with 10 men. I was fortunate to give a good assist to give us the lead and, although they equalised, a draw was a good result. It was a great season and I want to congratulate all my teammates for playing a huge role in our success,” he added.

Amakhosi legend of years gone by, Siphiwe Shabalala, was in attendance and put his stamp of approval on what was an appropriate occasion to celebrate a memorable achievement for the academy and the Club, as a whole.

“It was a beautiful evening, and evening of fun and greatness where we got to celebrate the success of our juniors winning the DDC. I feel it is very important to honour them because it makes the young players aware of how big this platform is for them,” he said, continuing “Development is always essential for a strong foundation and mandatory to allocate all the necessary resources into it because these players are the future, they are at the doorstep of the senior team, and I am truly optimistic that they are motivated to make it to the next level.”

We congratulate everyone involved in this wonderful achievement that has brought honour to the Club and look forward to seeing many of these youngsters evolve into Amakhosi legends in the next few years.